The Hydration of Nitriles Catalyzed by the Combination of Palladium Nanoparticles and Copper Compounds

New catalysts based on Pd nanoparticles for the hydration of nitriles to amides were investigated. Copper compounds containing oxygen acted as effective promoters in the catalytic system. The catalysts could be used to prepare aromatic and aliphatic amides from the corresponding nitriles. Chloride ions significantly inhibited the catalytic performance.