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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Imine Metathesis by Silica-Supported Catalysts Using the Methodology of Surface Organometallic Chemistry
Published on: October 18, 2019
Cu(II)-Catalyzed Three-Component Sila-Strecker Reaction
Yu Niu1,2, Xiaocui Liu2,3, Meiling Li1
1Joint Laboratory for Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicine of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, International Institute for Translational Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou510006, China.
Abstract:
α-Aminosilanes have garnered significant attention as privileged structural motifs owing to their profound applications in pharmaceutical research, synthetic methodology, and advanced materials. We report here a general three-component Sila-Strecker reaction that utilizes an air- and moisture-stable Cu(II) salt catalyst, a silylation reagent, and ubiquitous starting materials, including a variety of amines (aryl amines, sulfamides, and sulfinamides) and carbonyl compounds (aldehydes and ketones). Diverse synthetically useful and pharmaceutically relevant α-aminosilanes are synthesized in moderate to excellent yields. Preliminary mechanistic investigation indicated an imine intermediate, which formed with the promotion of Ti(OEt)4. Compared with previous attempts, the established method offers a step-economic, operationally simple, and broadly tolerant approach that proceeds to α-aminosilane synthesis under mild conditions. Moreover, this reaction has been applied to the late-stage functionalization of a variety of bioactive natural products.
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