Switchable Access to Amines and Imines from Reductive Coupling of Nitroarenes with Alcohols Catalyzed by Biomass-Derived Cobalt Nanoparticles

Cobalt nanoparticles modified with N-doped hierarchical porous carbon derived from biomass are found to be a highly efficient, reusable heterogeneous catalyst for the coupling of nitroarenes with alcohols, selectively affording imines and amines via the borrowing hydrogen strategy for the first time. The product selectivity between imine and amine may be precisely tuned by simple alteration of the reaction conditions without changing the...