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Updated: May 20, 2026

Facile Preparation of (2Z,4E)-Dienamides by the Olefination of Electron-deficient Alkenes with Allyl Acetate
Published on: June 21, 2017
Iridium-catalyzed intermolecular hydroamination of unactivated aliphatic alkenes with amides and sulfonamides
Christo S Sevov1, Jianrong Zhou, John F Hartwig
1Division of Chemical Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Abstract:
The intermolecular addition of N-H bonds to unactivated alkenes remains a challenging, but desirable, strategy for the synthesis of N-alkylamines. We report the intermolecular amination of unactivated α-olefins and bicycloalkenes with arylamides and sulfonamides to generate synthetically useful protected amine products in high yield. Mechanistic studies on this rare catalytic reaction revealed a resting state that is the product of N-H bond oxidative addition and coordination of the amide. Rapid, reversible dissociation of the amide precedes reaction with the alkene, but an intramolecular, kinetically significant rearrangement of the species occurs before this reaction with alkene.
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