Lanthanum Doped Zirconia as an Efficient Catalyst for Reductive Amination of 2-methoxybenzaldehyde with Dimethylformamide via Leuckart Type Reaction
Abstract
The lanthanum doped zirconia catalyzed one-step novel catalytic reductive amination route was developed for synthesis of 2-methoxy-N,N-dimethylbenzylamine from 2-methoxybenzaldehyde and dimethylformamide (DMF). The catalyst with 4:1 molar ratio of zirconium to lanthanum leads to the formation full tetragonal phase of zirconia and found to be the best molar ratio for maximum activity. This catalyst was used to study the influence of process parameters on rate conversion and selectivity. Complete conversion of 2-methoxybenzaldehyde with 100% selectivity towards reductive amination product was achieved. The probable reaction mechanism on Lewis acid catalytic sites was proposed and the kinetic model for reductive amination reaction developed. The catalyst was repeatedly used and was found to be stable, active, and selective. It was successfully applied to study several other substrates using the Leuckart reaction.