Gold nanoparticles assisted formation of cobalt species for intermolecular hydroaminomethylation and intramolecular cyclocarbonylation of olefins

The intermolecular hydroaminomethylation and the intramolecular cyclocarbonylation efficiently proceeded on cobalt oxide supported gold nanoparticles. The intermolecular reaction employing terminal olefins and N-isopropylaniline afforded hydroaminomethylated products as a mixture of regioisomers via a common reaction path consisting of hydroformylation, imine formation, and hydrogenation. In contrast, indolinone derivatives were exclusively obtained in the case of 2-alkenylanilines based on the intramolecular cyclocarbonylation mechanism. Both of these reactions were catalyzed by cobalt species derived from cobalt oxide. The active cobalt species were formed via reduction of the oxide support promoted by deposited gold nanoparticles. Characterization of the catalysts before and after the reaction was also performed.