Process for producing optically active 1-(fluoro- or trifluoromethyl-substituted phenyl) ethylamine and process for purifying same

Abstract

An optically active 1-(fluoro- or trifluoromethyl-substituted phenyl)ethylamine is produced with high optical purity and in an industrially simple and efficient manner by asymmetrically reducing an optically active imine, obtained by dehydration and condensation of a fluoro- or trifluoromethyl-substituted phenylmethyl ketone and an optically active primary amine under acidic conditions, using a hydride reducing agent to convert to an optically active secondary amine, and subjecting the secondary amine or its salt of an inorganic acid or organic acid to hydrogenolysis. In addition, an optically active 1-(fluoro- or trifluoromethyl-substituted phenyl)ethylamine is purified to an even higher optical purity in an industrially simple and efficient manner by converting the optically active secondary amine of the synthetic intermediate obtained by asymmetric reduction, or an optically active 1-(3,5-bis-trifluoromethylphenyl)ethylamine, one of the target compounds, to an inorganic or organic acid salt followed by recrystallization purification. This ethylamine is an important intermediate of pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals.