Metal catalyst Synthesis of methyl-d3-amine hydrochloride by nitro group reduction

This report relates to the synthetic method and production procedure for (methyl-d3) amine salts, the important intermediates for chemical synthesis, can be used to make chemical, biological and pharmaceutical compounds [1]. Here, we report an efficient, mild and general methodology for conversion of deuterated nitromethane to the methyl-d3 amine using iron metal catalyst in the presence of deuterium chloride as acid and deuterium oxide as solvent. The reaction was completed in two steps: (i) deuterium exchange reaction between deuterium oxide and nitromethane in the presence of a base catalyst [2], and (ii) reduction of deuterated nitromethane to the methyl-d3-amine using iron powder catalyst deuterium oxide solvent in the presence of deuterium chloride [3]. Isotopic enrichment was measured by NMR spectroscopy technique and GC-FID was applied for determining chemical purity of deuterated product.