An in situ formed cobalt catalyst is developed from cobalt(II)bromide, bis[2-(diisopropylphosphino)-4methylphenyl]amine and zinc metal. The catalyst mediates the acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling of alcohols and amines into imines with the release of hydrogen gas and the transformation is applied to the synthesis of a variety of imines from different alcohols and amines. The mechanism is investigated with labelled substrates and based on the results a cobalt(I) PNP complex is believed to be the catalytically active species which abstracts hydrogen gas from the alcohol through a metal ligand bifunctional pathway. Convenient cobalt:A cobalt catalyst is formed in situ from CoBr2, a PNP ligand and Zn and shown to mediate the synthesis of imines from alcohols and amines with the release of hydrogen gas. The catalytically active species is believed to be a cobalt(I) complex, which removes hydrogen gas from the alcohol by a metal ligand bifunctional mechanism.

Primary amines have been subjected to an acceptorless dehydrogenative homo‐ and heterocoupling into imines with a cobalt catalyst. The catalytically active species are composed of cobalt nanoparticles, which are generated in situ by heating Co2(CO)8 in the presence of trioctylphosphine oxide as a surfactant. The nanoparticles have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy where the image showed spherical and small particles with a narrow size distribution. The catalyst can be recovered and used again with essentially no effect on the yield. The catalyst can also be used for the dehydrogenative coupling of alcohols and amines into imines.

A convenient strategy for the preparation of compounds bearing the benzofuran skeleton starting from tyrosol, a phenol largely present in olive oil production waste, with no biological importance, is reported. A bromination/methoxylation sequence, already described for the synthetic transformation of natural occurring compounds, was exploited. Depending on the solvent used for the methoxylation reaction together with the presence of a 4-phenol moiety respect to the side chain, benzodihydrofurans or a benzofurans derivative can be obtained.