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Science 6 September 2002:
Vol. 297. no. 5587, pp. 1653 - 1654
DOI: 10.1126/science.1076371
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Perspectives

CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS:
Raising the Bar for the "Perfect Reaction"

John F. Hartwig

Amines are usually produced from alcohols with a solid-acid catalyst. Billions of kilograms of amines are produced each year to go into products such as shampoos, carpets, and fabric conditioners, and pharmaceuticals. In his Perspective, Hartwig highlights the synthetic route described by Seayad et al. The method enables amine synthesis directly from isomeric mixtures of alkenes, without the need to make the alcohol first. As a result of this elimination of a key intermediate step, the method may lead to cleaner and more efficient production of amines.

The author is in the Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06422, USA. E-mail: john.hartwig{at}yale.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)