Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of amines with alkenyl bromides: a new method for the synthesis of enamines and imines

The palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of alkenyl bromides with secondary and primary amines gives rise to enamines and imines, respectively. This new transformation expands the applicability of palladium-catalyzed C-N bond forming reactions (the Buchwald-Hartwig amination), which have mostly been applied to aryl halides. After screening of different ligands, bases, and solvents, the catalytic combination [Pd(2)(dba)(3)]/BINAP in the presence of NaOtBu in toluene gave the best results in the cross-coupling of secondary amines with 1-bromostyrene (dba=dibenzylideneacetone, BINAP=2,2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1'-binaphthyl). The corresponding enamines are obtained cleanly and in nearly quantitative yields. However, steric hindrance seems to be a limitation of the reaction, as amines carrying large substituents are not well converted. The same methodology can be applied to the coupling of secondary amines with 2-bromostyrene. Moreover, the reaction with substituted 2-bromopropenes allows regioselective synthesis of isomerizable terminal enamines without isomerization of the double bond. The best catalytic conditions for the cross-coupling of 1-bromostyrene with primary amines include again the use of the Pd(0)/BINAP/NaOtBu system. The reaction gives rise to the expected imines in very short times and with low catalyst loadings. A set of structurally diverse imines can be prepared by this methodology through variations in the structure of both coupling partners. However, 2-bromostyrene failed to give good results in this coupling reaction, probably due to product inhibition of the catalytic cycle. Competition experiments of vinyl versus aryl amination reveal that the reaction occurs preferentially on vinyl bromides.