The Synthesis of Amides through Direct Amination of Aldehydes with Amines

Amide bonds are amongst the most fundamental groups in organic synthesis, and they are widely found in natural products, pharmaceuticals and material science. Over the past decade, methods for the direct amination of aldehydes have received much attention as they represent atom- and step-economic routes for amide synthesis from readily available starting materials. Herein, the research advances on the direct amination of aldehydes are reviewed and categorized by the types of catalyst system. Detailed reaction scopes and mechanisms will be discussed, as well as the limitations of current procedures and the prospects for the future.