Facile Synthesis of N-acetylglycine from Chitin-Derived N-acetylmonoethanolamine

The effective conversion of renewable chitin and its derivatives to organonitrogen chemicals is of significance. N-acetylmonoethanolamine (NMEA) is a compound that can be produced from N-acetylglucosamine (NAG, the monomer of chitin) via successive retro-aldol and hydrogenation reactions. Here we report the aerobic oxidation of NMEA to N-acetylglycine in O2 using cheap Fe(NO3)3⋅9H2O, TEMPO, and KCl. The effects of catalysts, additives, and reaction conditions on the N-acetylglycine synthesis were investigated. Under optimized conditions, a 62.1% yield of N-acetylglycine with almost full conversion was obtained.