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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Efficient Synthesis of All-Carbon Quaternary Centers via the Conjugate Addition of Functionalized Monoorganozinc Bromides
Published on: May 26, 2019
Highly regioselective amination of unactivated alkanes by hypervalent sulfonylimino-λ³-bromane
Masahito Ochiai1, Kazunori Miyamoto, Takao Kaneaki
1Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokushima, 1-78 Shomachi, Tokushima 770-8505, Japan. mochiai@ph.tokushima-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Amination of alkanes has generally required metal catalysts and/or high temperatures. Here we report that simple exposure of a broad range of alkanes to N-triflylimino-λ(3)-bromane 1 at ambient temperature results in C-H insertion of the nitrogen functionality to afford triflyl-substituted amines in moderate to high yields. Marked selectivity for tertiary over secondary C-H bonds was observed; primary (methyl) C-H bonds were inert. Addition of hexafluoroisopropanol to inhibit decomposition of 1 dramatically improved the C-H amination efficiencies. Second-order kinetics, activation parameters (negative activation entropy), deuterium isotope effects, and theoretical calculations suggest a concerted asynchronous bimolecular transition state for the metal-free C-H amination event.
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