Methods for direct alkene diamination, new & old

Cobalt-catalyzed amination of aziridines and azetidines toward 1,2- and 1,3-diamines

Diamines play important roles in synthetic organic chemistry and thus facilitate life and materials sciences. Herein we report a cobalt-catalyzed ring opening, nucleophilic amination of aziridines and azetidines with N-fluorosulfonamides toward a wide range of 1,2- and 1,3-diamine derivatives in moderate to good yields under mild conditions.

Cobalt-Promoted Photoredox 1,2-Amidoamination of Alkenes with N-Sulfonamidopyridin-1-ium Salts and Free Amines

A cobalt-promoted photoredox 1,2-amidoamination of alkenes with N-sulfonamidopyridin-1-ium salts and free amines for the synthesis of unsymmetrical vicinal diamines has been developed. The reaction handles N-(sulfonamido)pyridin-1-ium salts as the sulfonamidyl radical precursors and free amines as the nucleophilic terminating reagents to enable the formation of two new C(sp3)-N bonds in a single reaction step and offers a route to selectively producing unsymmetrical vicinal diamines with an exquisite selectivity and a good compatibility of functional groups.

Visible-Light-Driven Multicomponent Diamination and Oxyamination of Alkene

Herein, we describe an effective method for the synthesis of 2-alkoxyamides and 1,2-diamines through visible-light-mediated difunctionalization of alkenes. N-Aminopyridinium salts were employed as appropriate precursors to generate key amidyl radical intermediates via a photoinduced single-electron transfer (SET) process. The amidyl radicals would react with alkenes, followed by oxidation and nucleophilic addition. Excellent functional group tolerance and good yields demonstrate the synthetic potential of this transformation.

Transition-Metal-Catalyzed 1,2-Diaminations of Olefins: Synthetic Methodologies and Mechanistic Studies

1,2-Diamines are synthetically important motifs in organo-catalysis, natural products, and drug research. Continuous utilization of transition-metal based catalyst in direct 1,2-diamination of olefines, in contrast to metal-free transformations, with numerous impressive advances made in recent years (2015-2023). This review summarized contemporary research on the transition-metal catalyzed/mediated [e. g., Cu(II), Pd(II), Fe(II), Rh(III), Ir(III), and Co(II)] 1,2-diamination (asymmetric and non-asymmetric) especially emphasizing the recent synthetic methodologies and mechanistic understandings. Moreover, up-to-date discussion on (i) paramount role of oxidant and catalyst (ii) key achievements (iii) generality and uniqueness, (iv) synthetic limitations or future challenges, and (v) future opportunities are summarized related to this potential area.

Ring Opening of Aziridines by Pendant Sulfamates Allows for Regioselective and Stereospecific Preparation of Vicinal Diamines

The ring opening of aziridines by pendant sulfamates is a viable strategy for the rapid preparation of vicinal diamines. Our reaction is compatible with both disubstituted cis- and trans-aziridines; unsubstituted, N-alkyl, and N-aryl sulfamates engage effectively. In all cases examined, the cyclization reaction is perfectly regioselective and stereospecific. Once activated, the product oxathiazinane heterocycles can be ring opened with a diverse range of nucleophiles.

Regiospecific Alkene Aminofunctionalization via an Electrogenerated Dielectrophile

Modular strategies to rapidly increase molecular complexity have proven immensely synthetically valuable. In principle, transformation of an alkene into a dielectrophile presents an opportunity to deliver two unique nucleophiles across an alkene. Unfortunately, the selectivity profiles of known dielectrophiles have largely precluded this deceptively simple synthetic approach. Herein, we demonstrate that dicationic adducts generated through electrolysis of alkenes and thianthrene possess a unique selectivity profile relative to more conventional dielectrophiles. Specifically, these species undergo a single and perfectly regioselective substitution reaction with phthalimide salts. This observation unlocks an appealing new platform for aminofunctionalization reactions. As an illustrative example, we implement this new reactivity paradigm to address a longstanding synthetic challenge: alkene diamination with two distinct nitrogen nucleophiles. Studies into the mechanism of this process reveal a key alkenyl thianthrenium salt intermediate that controls the exquisite regioselectivity of the process and highlight the importance of proton sources in controlling the reactivity of alkenyl sulfonium salt electrophiles.

Modular and practical diamination of allenes

Vicinal diamines are privileged scaffolds in medicine, agrochemicals, catalysis, and other fields. While significant advancements have been made in diamination of olefins, diamination of allenes is only sporadically explored. Furthermore, direct incorporation of acyclic and cyclic alkyl amines onto unsaturated π systems is highly desirable and important, but problematic for many previously reported amination reactions including the diamination of olefins. Herein, we report a modular and practical diamination of allenes, which offers efficient syntheses of β,γ-diamino carboxylates and sulfones. This reaction features broad substrate scope, excellent functional group tolerability, and scalability. Experimental and computational studies support an ionic reaction pathway initiated with a nucleophilic addition of the in situ formed iodoamine to the electron deficient allene substrate. An iodoamine activation mode via a halogen bond with a chloride ion was revealed to substantially increase the nucleophilicity of the iodoamine and lower the activation energy barrier for the nucleophilic addition step.

Recent Advancements on Metal-Free Vicinal Diamination of Alkenes: Synthetic Strategies and Mechanistic Insights

The oxidative aminative vicinal difunctionalization of alkenes or related chemical feedstocks has emerged as sustainable and multipurpose strategies that can efficiently construct two -N bonds, and simultaneously prepare the synthetically fascinating molecules and catalysis in organic synthesis that typically required multi-step reactions. This review summarized the impressive breakthroughs on synthetic methodologies (2015-2022) documented especially over inter/intra-molecular vicinal diamination of alkenes with electron-rich or deficient diverse nitrogen sources. These unprecedented strategies predominantly involved iodine-based reagents/catalysts, which resent the interest of organic chemists due to their impressive role as flexible, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly reagents, resulting in a wide variety of synthetically useful organic molecules. Moreover, the information collected also describes the significant role of catalyst, terminal oxidant, substrate scope, synthetic applications, and their unsuccessful results to highlight the limitations. Special emphasis has been given to proposed mechanistic pathways to determine the key factors governing the issues of regioselectivity, enantioselectivity, and diastereoselectivity ratios.

1,2-Diamination of Alkenes via 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition with Azidium Ions or Azides

We describe two new methods for the 1,2-diamination of alkenes. First, either an azidium ion (ArN═N⁺═NAr) undergoes 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with an alkene to give a 1,2,3-triazolinium ion directly, or an intramolecular azide-alkene cycloaddition followed by N-benzylation provides the same. Second, hydrogenation of the 1,2,3-triazolinium ion over Raney Ni excises the central N atom and gives the 1,2-diamine. The stereochemistry of the alkene is usually, but not always, preserved in the 1,2-diamine.

Synthesis of 1,2-Diamines from Vinyl Sulfonium Salts and Arylamines

A procedure for the synthesis of 1,2-diamines from vinyl sulfonium salts and arylamines under mild conditions was developed. This present synthetic protocol not only obviates the need for a transition-metal catalyst and an oxidizing reagent but also features a broad substrates scope. The practicability of this protocol is demonstrated by the one-pot synthesis, a scale-up reaction, and transformations of the products to diverse N-heterocyclic compounds. Mechanistic studies indicate that the formation of aziridine plays a key role during this diamination process.

Rh(III)-catalyzed Intra- and Intermolecular 3,4-Difunctionalization of 1,3-Dienes via Rh(III)-π-allyl Amidation with 1,4,2-Dioxazolones

We herein report a modular strategy, which enables Rh(III)-catalyzed diastereoselective 3,4-amino oxygenation and diamination of 1,3-dienes using different O- and N-nucleophiles in combination with readily available 3-substituted 1,4,2-dioxazolones (78 examples, 37-91% yield). Previous attempts to functionalize the internal double bond rested on the use of plain alcoholic solvents as nucleophilic coupling partners thus dramatically limiting the scope of this transformation. We have now identified hexafluoroisopropanol as a non-nucleophilic solvent which allows the use of diverse nucleophiles and greatly expands the scope, including an unprecedented amino hydroxylation to selectively install valuable, unprotected β-amino alcohols across 1,3-dienes. Moreover, various elaborate alcohols prove to be compatible providing unique access to complex organic molecules. Finally, this method is employed in a series of intramolecular reactions to deliver valuable nitrogen heterocycles as well as γ- and δ-lactones.

Enantioselective iodolactonization to prepare ε-lactone rings using hypervalent iodine

Despite the rapid growth of enantioselective halolactonization reactions in recent years, most are effective only when forming smaller (6,5,4-membered) rings. Seven-membered ε-lactones, are rarely formed with high selectivity, and never without conformational bias. We describe the first highly enantioselective 7-exo-trig iodolactonizations of conformationally unbiased ε-unsaturated carboxylic acids, effected by an unusual combination of a bifunctional BAM catalyst, I₂, and I(iii) reagent (PhI(OAc)₂:PIDA).

We describe the first highly enantioselective 7-exo-trig iodolactonizations of conformationally unbiased ε-unsaturated carboxylic acids, effected by an unusual combination of a bifunctional BAM catalyst, I₂, and I(iii) reagent (PhI(OAc)₂:PIDA).

Pd-Catalyzed Alkene Diamination Reactions with O-Benzoylhydroxylamine Electrophiles: Evidence Supporting a Pd(II/IV) Catalytic Cycle, the Role of 2,4-Pentanedione Derivatives as Ligands, and Expanded Substrate Scope

This article describes continued studies on Pd-catalyzed alkene diamination reactions between N-allylguanidines or ureas and O-benzoylhydroxylamine derivatives, which serve as N-centered electrophiles. The transformations generate cyclic guanidines and ureas bearing dialkylaminomethyl groups in moderate to good yield. We describe new mechanistic experiments that have led to a revised mechanistic hypothesis that involves a key oxidative addition of the electrophile to a Pd^II complex, followed by reductive elimination from Pd^IV to form the alkyl carbon-nitrogen bond. In addition, we demonstrate that acac, not phosphine, serves as a key ligand for palladium. Moreover, simple acac derivatives bearing substituted aryl groups outperform acac in the catalytic reactions, and phosphines inhibit catalysis in many cases. These discoveries have led to a significant expansion in the scope of this chemistry, which now allows for the coupling of a variety of cyclic amines, acyclic secondary amines, and primary amines. In addition, we also demonstrate that these new conditions allow for the use of amide nucleophiles, in addition to guanidines and ureas.

Copper-Catalyzed Diamination of Unactivated Alkenes With Electron-Rich Amino Sources

The catalytic intermolecular diamination of unactivated alkenes with electron-rich amino sources is a challenge. Herein, by employing a directing-group strategy, a copper-catalyzed diamination of unactivated alkenes was realized. Symmetrical diamines were efficiently produced in a highly diastereoselective manner with readily available dialkylamines as amino sources, while a one-pot and two-step operation was necessary to produce the unsymmetrical diamines. These reactions were proposed to proceed through aziridinium intermediates.

Visible-Light-Induced Photoaddition of N-Nitrosoalkylamines to Alkenes: One-Pot Tandem Approach to 1,2-Diamination of Alkenes from Secondary Amines

The generation of aminium radical cation species from N-nitrosoamines is disclosed for the first time through visible-light excitation at 453 nm. The developed visible-light-promoted photoaddition reaction of N-nitrosoamines to alkenes was combined with the o-NQ-catalyzed aerobic oxidation protocol of amines to telescope the direct handling of harmful N-nitroso compounds, where the desired α-amino oxime derivatives were obtained in a one-pot tandem N-nitrosation and photoaddition sequence.

Recent advances in aminative difunctionalization of alkenes

Alkenes are versatile building blocks in modern organic synthesis. In the difunctionalization reactions of alkenes, two functional groups can be simultaneously introduced into the π system. This is an efficient strategy for the synthesis of multifunctional compounds with complex structures and has the advantages of atom and step economy. Nitrogen-containing organic compounds are widely found in natural products and synthetic compounds, such as dyes, pesticides, medicines, artificial resins, and so on. Many natural products with high biological activity and a broad range of drugs have nitrogen-containing functional groups. The research on the construction methods of C-N bonds has always been one of the most important tasks in organic synthesis, especially in drug synthesis, and the synthetic methods starting from simple and easily available raw materials have been a topic of interest to chemists. The aminative difunctionalization of alkenes can efficiently construct C-N bonds, and at the same time, prepare some compounds that usually require multiple steps of reaction. It is one of the most effective strategies for the simple and efficient synthesis of functionalized nitrogen-containing compounds. This review outlines the major developments focusing on the transition metal-catalyzed or metal-free diamination, aminohalogenation, aminocarbonation, amino-oxidation and aminoboronation reactions of alkenes from 2015-2020.

Highly diastereoselective synthesis of vicinal diamines via a Rh-catalyzed three-component reaction of diazo compounds with diarylmethanimines and ketimines

A Rh-catalyzed selective three-component reaction of diazo compounds with diarylmethanimines and ketimines is reported that offers an efficient and convenient access to vicinal diamine derivatives with two tertiary stereocenters in high yields.

Controllable Z/E-selective synthesis of α-amino-ketoximes from N-nitrososulfonamides and aryl alkenes under neutral conditions

An amidoximation of alkenes with N-nitrososulfonamides enabled by triplet energy transfer under neutral conditions is presented. Both (Z)- and (E)-α-amino-ketoximes are selectively accessible depending on the triplet energy of the photosensitizer.

Vicinal difunctionalization of carbon-carbon double bond for the platform synthesis of trifluoroalkyl amines

Regioselective vicinal diamination of carbon-carbon double bonds with two different amines is a synthetic challenge under transition metal-free conditions, especially for the synthesis of trifluoromethylated amines. However, the synthesis of ethylene diamines and fluorinated amine compounds is demanded, especially in the pharmaceutical sector. Herein, we demonstrate that the controllable double nucleophilic functionalization of an activated alkene synthon, originated from a trifluoropropenyliodonium salt with two distinct nucleophiles, enables the selective synthesis of trifluoromethylated ethylene amines and diamines on broad scale with high efficiency under mild reaction conditions. Considering the chemical nature of the reactants, our synthetic approach brings forth an efficient methodology and provides versatile access to highly fluorinated amines.

A Practical Aryliodine(I/III) Catalysis for the Vicinal Diamination of Styrenes

2,6-Disubstituted iodoarenes bearing amide-functionalized side arms are reported as new structures in redox-active iodine(I/III) catalysis. In combination with bis-sulfonimides as nitrogen sources and 3-chloroperbenzoic acid (mCPBA) as benign terminal oxidant they catalyze the vicinal diamination of styrenes. The obtained reactivity and selectivity outperform other iodoarene catalyst candidates. This protocol provides a sustainable alternative to previous related protocols for diamination that are based on stoichiometric iodine(III) reagents.

2-Azadienes as Enamine Umpolung Synthons for the Preparation of Chiral Amines

The development of new strategies for the preparation of chiral amines is an important objective in organic synthesis. In this Synpacts, we summarize our approach for catalytically accessing nucleophilic aminoalkyl metal species from 2-azadienes, and its application in generating a number of important but elusive chiral amine scaffolds. Reductive couplings with ketones and imines afford 1,2-amino tertiary alcohols and 1,2-diamines, respectively, whereas fluoroarylations of gem-difluoro-2-azadienes deliver α-trifluoromethylated benzylic amines.

Hypercoordinate iodine for catalytic asymmetric diamination of styrene: insights into the mechanism, role of solvent, and stereoinduction

Stereoselectivity in the asymmetric diamination of styrene catalyzed by chiral hypercoordinate iodine originates from the prochiral face recognition when the substrate binds to the catalyst.

Hypercoordinate iodine has evolved as an impressive class of catalysts for various organic transformations. Extension of this idea to asymmetric applications, such as in the asymmetric difunctionalization of styrene or its derivatives, constitutes an important reaction. In this study, the mechanism and origin of stereoinduction in styrene diamination, with a sulfonimide (HNMs₂) as the diaminating agent and iodoresorcinol (((iPr)₂N(CO)-CH(Me)-O)₂Ar–I) based chiral hypercoordinate iodine as the catalyst, are investigated using density functional theory calculations. The energetically preferred catalytic pathway has been found to involve, among other steps, two very important mechanistic events: (a) the formation of a catalyst–substrate complex by the action of styrene on the catalyst ArI(NMs₂)₂, resulting in the displacement of one of the imidates (NMs₂^–); and (b) a rebound of the departed imidate on the iodine-bound styrene to form an iodonium ion intermediate with a N–C bond. Explicit interaction of the imidate ion with hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP), used as a solvent additive, lowers the barrier for the formation of the iodonium ion. The P helical fold of the chiral arms of the iodoresorcinol catalyst is found to offer a chiral environment for the reactants. Coordination of the iodine catalyst to the styrene double bond is found to make the benzylic carbon more electrophilic and hence makes it the preferred site for the nucleophilic addition. In the chiral environment of the catalyst, an enhanced polarization of the styrene double bond is noticed when the double bond coordinates through the si prochiral face than the re face. Nucleophilic addition on the re face of the catalyst–substrate complex is associated with a lower activation barrier leading to the experimentally observed S enantiomeric product. The stereoselective model developed in this study can be employed to related asymmetric styrene difunctionalizations using similar hypercoordinate iodine catalysts.

Regio- and Enantioselective Formal Hydroamination of Enamines for the Synthesis of 1,2-Diamines

The asymmetric formal hydroamination of enamines using a CuH catalyst is reported. The method provides a straightforward and efficient approach to the synthesis of chiral 1,2-dialkyl amines in good yields with high levels of enantioselectivities for a broad range of substrates, and should have significant value for the preparation of molecules bearing a 1,2-diamine motif.

Iodine-promoted Intermolecular Dehydrogenation Diamination: Synthesis of Unsymmetrical α,β-Diamido Ketones

Iodine-promoted direct diamination of α,β-unsaturated ketone to form two C-N bonds has been developed starting from chalcone and secondary amine. This reaction was performed in THF at 50 °C in the presence of I₂ and K₂ CO_3. The protocol is metal-free, operationally simple and carried out under mild conditions, providing an effective new way for directing diamination reactions.

Mild Nitration of Pyrazolin-5-ones by a Combination of Fe(NO3 )3 and NaNO2 : Discovery of a New Readily Available Class of Fungicides, 4-Nitropyrazolin-5-ones

4-Nitropyrazolin-5-ones have been synthesized by the nitration of pyrazolin-5-ones at room temperature by employing the Fe(NO₃ )₃ /NaNO₂ system. The method demonstrated selectivity towards the 4-position of pyrazolin-5-ones even in the presence of NPh and allyl substituents, which are sensitive to nitration. It was shown that other systems containing Fe^III and nitrites, namely Fe(NO₃ )₃ /tBuONO, Fe(ClO₄ )₃ /NaNO₂ , and Fe(ClO₄ )₃ /tBuONO, were also effective. Presumably, Fe^III oxidizes the nitrite (NaNO₂ or tBuONO) to form the NO₂ free radical, which serves as the nitrating agent for pyrazolin-5-ones. The synthesized 4-nitropyrazolin-5-ones were discovered to be a new class of fungicides. Their in vitro activities against phytopathogenic fungi were found comparable or even superior to those of commercial fungicides (fluconazole, clotrimazole, triadimefon, and kresoxim-methyl). These results represent a promising starting point for the development of a new type of plant protection agents that can be easily synthesized from widely available reagents.

Enantioselective Organocatalytic Amine-Isocyanate Capture-Cyclization: Regioselective Alkene Iodoamination for the Synthesis of Chiral Cyclic Ureas

Ureas of chiral diamines are prominent features of therapeutics, chiral auxiliaries, and intermediates in complex molecule synthesis. Although many methods for diamine synthesis are available, metal-free enantioselective alkene functionalizations to make protected 1,2- and 1,3-diamines from simple achiral starting materials are rare, and a single reagent that accesses a cross-section of each congener with high enantiomeric excess is not available. We describe a method to synthesize enantioenriched cyclic 5- and 6-membered ureas from allylic amines and an isocyanate using a C2-symmetric BisAmidine (BAM) catalyst that delivers N-selectivity from an ambident sulfonyl imide intermediate, overcoming electronic and steric deactivation at nitrogen. The geometry of 1,2-disubstituted alkenes is correlated to 5-exo and 6-endo cyclizations without altering alkene face selectivity, which is unexpectedly opposite that observed with O-nucleophiles. Straightforward product manipulations to diamine and imidazolidinone derivatives are underscored by the synthesis of an NK1 antagonist.

Are homoleptic complexes of ethylene with group 12 metals isolable in solution? A DFT study

Ethylene efficiently binds late transition metals of groups 10 and 11. In spite of their reactivity, homoleptic compounds of formula [M-(η²-C₂H₄)₃]ⁿ⁺ (with n = 0,1) have been isolated in solution and solid state and characterized spectroscopically throughout the last 50 years with metals from groups 10 and 11. X-ray diffraction studies proved that such homoleptic adducts adopt planar "wheel" structures where ethylene moieties lies flat in the same plane both in group 10 and 11. These experimental findings were also confirmed by several in-depth computational investigations carried out to understand the bond pattern of such peculiar structures. Homoleptic complexes of group 10 and 11 metals with ethylene are normally obtained in poorly coordinating solvents (like CH₂Cl₂ or light petroleum) saturated with ethylene to increase the stability of such species in solution. In the case of coinage metals, Cu(I), Ag(I) and Au(I), weakly coordinating fluorinated counter-ions (like SbF₆^-) succeeded in stabilize the ethylene adducts, but, curiously, no analogous success has been reported for Zn(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II). Isoelectronic congeners along group 12 are still elusive, however, and, to our knowledge, full experimental and theoretical characterizations are still missing. This manuscript focuses on the theoretical study of the thermodynamic stability and properties of homoleptic complexes of ethylene with metals from group 12 in comparison with those from groups 10 and 11.

Synthetic Studies Toward Pactamycin Highlighting Oxidative C-H and Alkene Amination Technologies

A strategy enabled by C-H and alkene amination technologies for synthesizing the aminocyclitol natural product, pactamycin, is disclosed. This work features two disparate approaches for assembling the five-membered ring core of the target, the first of which utilizes acyl anion catalysis and a second involving β-ketoester aerobic hydroxylation. Installation of the C3-N bond, one of three contiguous nitrogen centers, is made possible through Rh-catalyzed allylic C-H amination of a sulfamate ester. Subsequent efforts are presented to introduce the C1,C2 cis-diamino moiety en route to pactamycin, including carbamate-mediated alkene aziridination. In the course of these studies, assembly of the core of C2- epi-pactamycate, which bears the carbon skeleton and all of the requisite nitrogen and oxygen functional groups found in the natural product, has been achieved.

Pd(II)-Catalyzed Asymmetric Oxidative 1,2-Diamination of Conjugated Dienes with Ureas

A palladium(II)-catalyzed asymmetric 1,2-diamination of 1,3-dienes with readily available dialkylureas was established by using a chiral pyridine-oxazoline ligand. The diamination reaction exclusively occurs at the terminal C-C double bond of the 1,3-dienes to give 4-vinylimidazolidin-2-ones in high yields and with excellent levels of enantioselectivity (up to 99% yield, 97% ee). The reaction could feasibly be applied for gram-scale synthesis with a 1:1 ratio of the diene and the urea.

Regiodivergent Iridium(III)-Catalyzed Diamination of Alkenyl Amides with Secondary Amines: Complementary Access to γ- or δ-Lactams

Alkenyl N-pivaloylhydroxamates undergo an Ir(III)-catalyzed diamination of the alkene with simple exogenous secondary amines under extraordinarily mild reaction conditions. The regioselectivity of the diamination is controlled by the solvent and the electronics of the cyclopentadienyl (Cpx) ligand on Ir. On the basis of a set of mechanistic experiments, we propose that the relative rates of Ir(V)-nitrenoid formation versus attack on the amido-Ir-coordinated alkene by the exogenous amine determine the outcome of the reaction.

Stereoselective and Regioselective Synthesis of Heterocycles via Copper-Catalyzed Additions of Amine Derivatives and Alcohols to Alkenes

This Perspective describes the development of a family of copper(II)-catalyzed alkene difunctionalization reactions that enable stereoselective addition of amine derivatives and alcohols onto pendant unactivated alkenes to provide a range of valuable saturated nitrogen and oxygen heterocycles. 2-Vinylanilines and related substrates undergo alternative oxidative amination or allylic amination pathways, and these reactions will also be discussed. The involvement of both polar and radical steps in the reaction mechanisms have been implicated. Major product formation is a function of the lowest energy pathway, which in turn is a function of structural aspects of the various reaction components.

Copper-Catalyzed Alkene Aminoazidation as a Rapid Entry to 1,2-Diamines and Installation of an Azide Reporter onto Azahetereocycles

A copper-catalyzed aminoazidation of unactivated alkenes is achieved for the synthesis of versatile unsymmetrical 1,2-diamine derivatives. This transformation offers an effective approach to installing an amide and an azide from two diffenent amino precursors onto both terminal and internal alkenes, with remarkable regio- and stereoselectivity. Mechanistic studies show that this diamination reaction proceeds via a nucleophilic amino cyclization followed by an intermolecular C-N bond formation using electrophilic azidoiodinane. This pathway differs from previous azidoiodinane-initiated alkene functionalization, suggesting new reactivity of azidoiodinane. Furthermore, this aminoazidation reaction provides an efficient strategy to introduce azide, one of the most useful chemical reporters, onto a broad range of bioactive azaheterocycles, offering new opportunities in bioorthogonal chemistry and biological studies. Rapid syntheses of 5-HT2C agonist, (-)-enduracididine and azido-cholesterol derivatives demonstrate broad applications of this method in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and chemical biology.