Efficient synthesis of glutaric acid from L-glutamic acid via diazoniation/hydrogenation sequence

Abstract The practical synthetic preparation of glutaric acid has remained a major challenge to date. In the present study, glutaric acid was synthesised by way of one-pot diazoniation/hydrogenation of the readily available L-glutamic acid under aqueous conditions on a gram-scale with good yields. This is the first example of the deamination of the aliphatic primary amine via diazoniation and could afford a practical approach to the production of glutaric acid.