Formation of imines by selective gold-catalysed aerobic oxidative coupling of alcohols and amines under ambient conditions

The formation of imines by aerobic oxidative coupling of mixtures of alcohols and amines was studied using gold nanoparticles supported on titanium dioxide, TiO2, as a heterogeneous catalyst. The reactions were performed at ambient conditions (room temperature and atmospheric pressure) and occurred with excellent selectivity (above 98%) at moderate conversion under optimized conditions. The effect of catalytic amounts of different bases was studied, along with reaction temperature and time. Utilisation of a selective catalyst system that uses dioxygen as an oxidant and only produces water as by-product represents a new green reaction protocol for imine formation.