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Amines are important building blocks possessing various applications in agrochemicals, the fine chemical industry, pharmaceuticals, materials science and biotechnology. The catalytic hydrogenation of nitriles is an important reaction for the one-step synthesis of diverse amines. However, significant amounts of side product formation during the course of the reaction is a major issue. In recent years, an enormous amount of work has been reported using both homogeneous and heterogeneous transition metal complex catalysts for the selective reduction of nitriles. Transition metal catalysts are the most crucial factor that controls the selectivity in this reaction. Therefore, transition metal catalysts are the central point of this review. We have also briefly discussed the effect of reaction parameters, selectivity to different substrate structures and reaction mechanisms. This review provides an overview of recent developments in transition metal-catalyzed nitrile reduction along with examples which highlight its vast potential in organic transformations.

A highly efficient ligand free catalytic system was developed for chemoselective transfer hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds by palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) in an aqueous reaction medium. The developed methodology offers chemoselective 1,4-reduction of various α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds such as carbonyls, amides, esters and nitriles with excellent chemoselectivity and effective catalyst recyclability.

A highly efficient ligand free catalytic system was developed for chemoselective transfer hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds by palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) in an aqueous reaction medium. The developed methodology offers chemoselective 1,4-reduction of various α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds such as carbonyls, amides, esters and nitriles with excellent chemoselectivity and effective catalyst recyclability.

An highly efficient PS-Pd-NHC catalytic system has been developed for chemoselective conjugate reduction of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds providing good to excellent conversion with remarkable chemoselectivity (up to 100%). The developed protocol is more advantageous due to use of HCOONa as hydrogen source, environmentally benign water as solvent and effective catalyst recyclability.