Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation and Deuteration of Unsaturated C-N Bonds to Amines with Vacancy-rich Cu3P Nanowires as Catalysts in Aqueous Solution

Renewable energy driven electrochemically hydrogenation of unsaturated C-N bonds with water as a hydrogen source provides an eco-friendly route for amine production. However, the potential commercial applications of this strategy were limited by the lack of relevant extended research. Here we demonstrate an efficient electrochemical hydrogenation system for the formation of amines from nitriles by a vacancy-rich copper phosphide catalyst. The catalytic system achieves a yield of 99% and a Faraday efficiency of 99% for the hydrogenation of benzonitrile. Mechanism study shows that benzonitrile is spontaneously adsorbed on the electrode surface and the electrogenerated active adsorbed hydrogen is the key reactive intermediate for hydrogenation. Theoretical calculation results show that vacancy-induced active sites chemisorb the N atom, thus accelerating C≡N bond activation for hydrogenation. Encouragingly, good yields of amines (≥99%) are obtained when benzonitrile is replaced by a series of aromatic nitriles, heterocyclic nitriles, aliphatic nitriles, and imines. These results show the general applicability of this method for the synthesis of various amines.