Reduction of hydrazines to amines with aqueous solution of titanium(III) trichloride.

N-N bond cleavage in hydrazines is widely used in the preparation of amines and thus occupies a significant place in organic synthesis. In this paper, we report a new method for the reductive cleavage of N-N bonds in hydrazines by commercially available and cheap aqueous titanium(III) trichloride. The reaction proceeds smoothly under a broad pH range from acidic to neutral and basic conditions to afford amines in good yields. This method is compatible with substrates containing functionalities such as C-C double bonds, benzyl-nitrogen bonds, benzyloxy and acyl groups.