Direct amination of aryl halides with ammonia

The traditional homogeneous access to aromatic amine derivatives is a nucleophilic aromatic substitution of the corresponding aryl halides. The halogen atom is usually relatively inert to amination reaction unless it is activated by the presence of electron withdrawing groups. Consequently, there has been particular emphasis over the past decade on the synthesis of metal complexes that are active catalysts for the preparation of aromatic amines. This tutorial review focuses on the use of metal-based complexes for the direct amination of aryl halides with ammonia.