Investigations into the use of nickel chloride and sodium borohydride for t
he reduction of nitriles showed the secondary amine dimers to be the major
products under normal conditions. The addition of a suitable trapping agent
, such as di-tert-butyl dicarbonate, allowed the isolation of the protected
primary amines. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights res
erved.