Patent ID: 8853400

Claim:
A process for preparing a primary amine, the process comprising: performing alcohol amination of an alcohol with ammonia and elimination of water under homogeneous catalysis in the presence of a complex catalyst comprising ruthenium and an at least bidental donor ligand, but no anionic ligands, wherein the complex catalyst is a catalyst of formula (I): wherein L 1 and L 2 are each independently PR a R b , NR a R b , SH, S(═O)R, C 5 -C 10 -heteroaryl, AsR a R b , SbR a R b or a N-heterocyclic carbene of formula (II) or (III): L 3 , L 4 and L 5 are each independently a monodentate two-electron donor selected from the group consisting of CO, PR a R b R c , NO + , AsR a R b R c , SbR a R b R c , SR a R b , RCN, RNC, N 2 , PF 3 , CS, pyridine, thiophene, tetrahydrothiophene, and a N-heterocyclic carbene of the formula (II) or (III); n is an integer of 0 or 1; R 1 and R 2 are both hydrogen or, together with the carbon atoms to which they are bonded, form a phenyl ring which, together with a quinolinyl unit of formula (I), forms an acridinyl unit; R, R a , R b , R c , R 3 , R 4 , and R 5 are each independently unsubstituted or at least monosubstituted C 1 -C 10 -alkyl, C 5 -C 10 -cycloalkyl, C 5 -C 10 -heterocyclyl, C 5 -C 10 -aryl or C 5 -C 10 -heteroaryl, wherein the substituents are selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, OH, CN, NH 2 , and C 1 -C 10 -alkyl; R 5a is R 5 or a bond; and X 1 is one, two, three, four, five, six or seven substituents on an atom of the acridinyl unit or one, two, three, four or five substituents on an atom of the quinolinyl unit, and X 1 is independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, F, Cl, Br, I, OH, NH 2 , NO 2 , NC(O)R, C(O)NR 2 , OC(O)R, C(O)OR, CN and unsubstituted or at least monosubstituted C 1 -C 10 -alkoxy, C 1 -C 10 -alkyl,C 5 -C 10 -cycloalkyl, C 5 -C 10 -heterocyclyl, C 5 -C 10 -aryl and C 5 -C 10 -heteroaryl, in which the substituents are selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, OH, CN, NH 2 , and C 1 -C 10 -alkyl.