Stereoretentive N-Arylation of Amino Acid Esters with Cyclohexanones Utilizing a Continuous-Flow System

The N-arylation of chiral amino acid esters with minimal racemization is a challenging transformation because of the sensitivity of the α-stereocenter. A versatile synthetic method was developed to prepare N-arylated amino acid esters using cyclohexanones as aryl sources under continuous-flow conditions. The designed flow system, which consists of a coil reactor and a packed-bed reactor containing a Pd(OH)₂ /C catalyst, efficiently afforded the desired N-arylated amino acids without significant racemization, accompanied by only small amounts of easily removable co-products (i. e., H₂ O and alkanes). The efficiency and robustness of this method allowed for the continuous synthesis of the desired product in very high yield and enantiopurity with high space-time yield (74.1 g L^-1  h^-1 ) and turnover frequency (5.9 h^-1 ) for at least 3 days.