General Catalytic Methylation of Amines with Formic Acid under Mild Reaction Conditions

A general catalytic protocol for the methylation of amines has been developed applying, for the first time, formic acid as the C₁ building block and silanes as reducing agents. A broad range of aromatic and aliphatic, both primary and secondary, amines has been converted to the corresponding tertiary amines including [N‐¹³C]‐labelled drugs in good to excellent yields under mild conditions.     

A Practical and General Base‐Catalyzed Carbonylation of Amines for the Synthesis of N‐Formamides

A highly practical and general base‐catalyzed carbonylation of amines to the corresponding N‐formamides has been realized. Cheap inorganic bases, including Group IA and IIA metal hydroxides, alkoxides, carbonates, and phosphates, were effective catalysts for the transformation. In the presence of 10–40 mol % of KOH or K₂CO₃, various amines were converted into the corresponding N‐formamides in good‐to‐excellent yields using CO as the formylation reagents.     

Nickel‐Catalyzed Methylation of Aryl Halides with Deuterated Methyl Iodide

A nickel‐catalyzed methylation of aryl halides with cheap and readily available CH₃I or CD₃I is described. The reaction is applicable to a wide range of substrates and allows installation of a CD₃ group under mild reaction conditions without deuterium scrambling to other carbon atoms. Initial mechanistic studies on the stoichiometric and catalytic reactions of the isolated [(dppp)Ni(C₆H₄‐4‐CO₂Et)Br] [dppp=1,3‐bis(diphenylphosphanyl)propane] suggest that a Ni⁰/Ni^II catalytic cycle is favored.     

Facile N‐Alkylation/N′‐Arylation Process: A Direct Approach to Aromatic Aminoalkyl Amines

An intriguing C?N transformation involving a catalyst‐free N‐alkylation/N′‐arylation process in a multicomponent reaction with secondary amines, cyclic tertiary amines and electron‐deficient aryl halides has been described. In this case, the N‐alkylation of secondary amines, utilizing cyclic tertiary amines as alkyl group sources, is enabled by a facile C?N cleavage. Such an operationally simple method could facilitate access to aromatic aminoalkyl amines, nitrogen‐containing bioactive molecules, in good to excellent yields.     

Boron‐Catalyzed N‐Alkylation of Amines using Carboxylic Acids

A boron‐based catalyst was found to catalyze the straightforward alkylation of amines with readily available carboxylic acids in the presence of silane as the reducing agent. Various types of primary and secondary amines can be smoothly alkylated with good selectivity and good functional‐group compatibility. This metal‐free amine alkylation was successfully applied to the synthesis of three commercial medicinal compounds, Butenafine, Cinacalcet. and Piribedil, in a one‐pot manner without using any metal catalysts.     

Highly Efficient Ruthenium‐Catalyzed N‐Formylation of Amines with H2 and CO2

A highly efficient catalyst system based on ruthenium‐pincer‐type complexes has been discovered for N‐formylation of various amines with CO₂ and H₂, thus affording the corresponding formamides with excellent productivity (turnover numbers of up to 1 940 000 in a single batch) and selectivity. Using a simple catalyst recycling protocol, the catalyst was reused for 12 runs in N,N‐dimethylformamide production without significant loss of activity, thus demonstrating the potential for practical utilization of this cost‐effective process. A one‐pot two‐step procedure for hydrogenation of CO₂ to methanol via the intermediacy of formamide formation has also been developed.     

A Highly Active Bifunctional Iridium Complex with an Alcohol/Alkoxide‐Tethered N‐Heterocyclic Carbene for Alkylation of Amines with Alcohols

A series of new iridium(III) complexes containing bidentate N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) functionalized with an alcohol or ether group (NHC? OR, R=H, Me) were prepared. The complexes catalyzed the alkylation of anilines with alcohols as latent electrophiles. In particular, biscationic Ir^III complexes of the type [Cp*(NHC‐OH)Ir(MeCN)]²⁺2[BF₄^?] afforded higher‐order amine products with very high efficiency; up to >99 % yield using a 1:1 ratio of reactants and 1–2.5 mol % of Ir, in short reaction times (2–16 h) and under base‐free conditions. Quantitative yields were also obtained at 50 °C, although longer reaction times (48–60 h) were needed. A large variety of aromatic amines have been alkylated with primary and secondary alcohols. The reactivity of structurally related iridium(III) complexes was also compared to obtain insights into the mechanism and into the structure of possible catalytic intermediates. The Ir^III complexes were stable towards oxygen and moisture, and were characterized by NMR, HRMS, single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, and elemental analyses.     

Molybdatophosphoric Acid/NaNO2 as an Efficient Procedure for the Chemoselective N‐Nitrosation of Secondary Amines

A combination of molybdatophosphoric acid and sodium nitrite in the presence of wet SiO₂ was used as an effective nitrosating agent for the nitrosation of secondary amines under mild and heterogeneous conditions in good to excellent yields. Also, the results of a computational study are investigated in the gas phase for geometry and properties of proposed structures.     

A New Class of Organosuperbases,N‐Alkyl‐ and N‐Aryl‐1,3‐dialkyl‐4,5‐dimethylimidazol‐2‐ylidene Amines: Synthesis,Structure, pKBH+ Measurements,and Properties

A series of stable organosuperbases, N‐alkyl‐ and N‐aryl‐1,3‐dialkyl‐4,5‐dimethylimidazol‐2‐ylidene amines, were efficiently synthesized from N,N′‐dialkylthioureas and 3‐hydroxy‐2‐butanone and their basicities were measured in acetonitrile. The derivatives with tert‐alkyl groups on the imino nitrogen were found to be more basic than the tBu P₁ (pyrr) phosphazene base in acetonitrile. The origin of the high basicity of these compounds is discussed. In acetonitrile and in the gas phase, the basicity of the alkylimino derivatives depends on the size of the substituent at the imino group, which influences the degree of aromatization of the imidazole ring, as measured by ¹³C NMR chemical shifts or by the calculated ΔNICS(1) aromaticity parameters, as well as on solvation effects. If a wider range of imino‐substituents, including electron‐acceptor substituents, is treated in the analysis then the influence of aromatization is less predominant and the gas‐phase basicity becomes more dependent on the field‐inductive effect, polarizability, and resonance effects of the substituent.     

Development of a microwave-enhanced isotopic labelling procedure based on the Eschweiler–Clarke methylation reaction

A number of primary and secondary amines have been rapidly methylated under microwave-enhanced conditions using formic acid-formaldehyde mixtures, providing a route to ²H(D)-containing compounds and the potential for ³H(T), ¹¹C, ¹³C and ¹⁴C labelling.     

Heterogeneous CuII‐Catalysed Solvent‐Controlled Selective N‐Arylation of Cyclic Amides and Amines with Bromo‐iodoarenes

A selective N‐arylation of cyclic amides and amines in DMF and water, respectively, catalysed by Cu^II/Al₂O₃ has been achieved. This protocol has been employed for the synthesis of a library of arenes bearing a cyclic amide and an amine moiety at two ends, including a few scaffolds of therapeutic importance. The mechanism has been established based on detailed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) studies of the catalyst at different stages of the reaction. The Cu^II/Al₂O₃ catalyst was recovered and recycled for subsequent reactions.     

Ring Opening of N‐Sulfonyl Aziridines by Amines in Silica‐Water

Ring opening reactions of N‐sulfonyl aziridines by primary and secondary amines in silica gel (SG)‐water system were achieved, which provided a mild, practical and environmentally benign method to synthesize mono‐ and bis‐sulfonyl substituted amines. When primary and secondary amines were used in excess, they reacted with N‐sulfonyl aziridines smoothly at room temperature, mainly affording 1:1 ring opening products. Reactions of primary amines with 2 equiv. of aziridines produced 2:1 ring opening products. Some 1:1 products can be cyclized with CS₂ to synthesize N‐sulfonyl cyclothioureas also in water.     

Formylation of Secondary Amines with Dimethylformamide Dimethylacetal

Abstract

Secondary amines are formylated by dimethylformamide dimethylacetal, contradicting recent reports on the ethylation of secondary amines by this reagent. This explains why a single derivative is obtained regardless of the alkyl acetal that is used. These formyl derivatives, also formed by reaction with formic acid, are eluted later than the starting material or the corresponding ethyl derivative. Deuterated imipramine and related antidepressants can be prepared by reducing the formyl derivative of the appropriate desalkyl compound with lithium aluminum deuteride.