Facile synthesis of N-benzylanilines via the amination of toluene over a cobalt-based catalyst

Utilizing aromatic alkanes instead of aromatic oxygenated compounds as the starting materials for efficient synthesis of N-benzylanilines remains a great challenge, which is hampered because of the chemical inertia property of aromatic alkanes. Herein, a cost-effective and promising cascade protocol was proposed for synthesis of N-benzylanilines via the amination of toluene over a cobalt-based catalyst. Both the intermediate benzalaniline and target product N-benzylanilines could be achieved in 99 % yield with the optimized conditions. Moreover, comparative experiments and characterization further clarified that the cascade synthesis of N-benzylaniline was through the amination of toluene involving oxidation, condensation, and hydrogenation reactions. Metallic cobalt loaded on Co-N-C/800-0.1 accounted for such superior catalytic performance. Furthermore, the Co-N-C/800-0.1 catalyst also showed good applicability and reusability. This study offers a potential avenue for direct synthesis of aromatic amines from available and inexpensive aromatic alkanes.