Racemic Synthetic Route 2 – Catalytic Hydrogenation

Catalytic hydrogenation is a useful synthetic procedure for producing pure compounds, as products are easily isolated with almost no reagent contamination. This makes it a particularly attractive technique for drug synthesis, as generally very pure products are demanded. In the synthesis shown below, Raney nickel in isopropanol is used to convert the substrate to salbutamol, at a temperature of 60ƒC and a pressure of 60 p.s.i.

The yield obtained through this synthesis is 90%.