Synthesis of 2,3-dihydroindoles, indoles, and anilines by transition metal-free amination of aryl chlorides.

Aliphatic and aromatic amines react with 2- and 3-chlorostyrene in the presence of potassium tert-butoxide to give N-substituted 2,3-dihydroindoles in good yields. The combination of this domino-amination protocol with a suitable dehydrogenation reaction gives access to pharmacologically interesting indoles in a one-pot procedure. Overall product yields of N-substituted indoles >50% are obtained by this method starting from commercially available substrates. In addition to the intramolecular base-promoted amination of aromatic C-Cl bonds, metal-free intermolecular aminations of aryl chlorides with primary and secondary amines are described. The use of potassium tert-butoxide as base allows the synthesis of various anilines in good to excellent yields. Due to the formation of aryne intermediates, either N-substituted anilines or meta-substituted anilines are produced with excellent selectivities.

Base-catalyzed amination of olefins: an example of an environmentally friendly synthesis of amines.

The base-catalyzed amination of aromatic olefins is described as an environmentally friendly synthesis of various beta-arylethylamines. Primary and secondary aliphatic amines as well as aromatic amines react with styrene derivatives to give the corresponding beta-arylethylamines in high yield up to 99%. While aliphatic amines react with styrenes in the presence of n-BuLi as the pre-catalyst, anilines can be olefinated using KOtBu as the catalyst.