Cobalt pincer complexes for catalytic reduction of nitriles to primary amines

Various cobalt pincer type complexes 1-6 were applied for the catalytic hydrogenation of nitriles to amines. Among these, catalyst 4 is the most efficient, allowing the reduction of aromatic as well as aliphatic nitriles in moderate to excellent yields. An efficient cobalt pincer type complex catalyzes the hydrogenation of nitriles to amines under mild conditions with high yields.