Dimethylamine as a Substrate in Hydroaminoalkylation Reactions

Transition-metal-catalyzed hydroaminoalkylations of alkenes have made great progress over the last decade and are heading to become a viable alternative to the industrial synthesis of amines through hydroformylation of alkenes and subsequent reductive amination. In the past, one major obstacle of this progress has been an inability to apply these reactions to the most important amines, methylamine and dimethylamine. Herein, we report the first successful use of dimethylamine in catalytic hydroaminoalkylations of alkenes with good yields. We also report applicability for a variety of alkenes to show the tolerance of the reaction towards different functional groups. Additionally, we present a catalytic dihydroaminoalkylation reaction using dimethylamine, which has never been reported before.