Synthesis 2016; 48(12): 1825-1854
DOI: 10.1055/s-0035-1560437
special topic
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Cyclization of Imides to 2-Azabicycles via Aminoketyl Radicals by Using Samarium(II) Iodide–Water: Reaction Development, Synthetic Scope, and Mechanistic Studies

Authors

  • Shicheng Shi

    Department of Chemistry, Rutgers University, 73 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102, USA   eMail: michal.szostak@rutgers.edu
  • Roger Lalancette ◊

    Department of Chemistry, Rutgers University, 73 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102, USA   eMail: michal.szostak@rutgers.edu
  • Michal Szostak*

    Department of Chemistry, Rutgers University, 73 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102, USA   eMail: michal.szostak@rutgers.edu
Weitere Informationen

Publikationsverlauf

Received: 27. Januar 2016

Accepted after revision: 01. März 2016

Publikationsdatum:
27. April 2016 (online)


Graphical Abstract

Preview

To whom correspondence about crystallographic data should be addressed

Dedicated to Professor Henri Kagan

Abstract

The first highly selective method for direct addition of aminoketyl radicals [R–C(O)NR1R2], generated from five- or six-membered cyclic imides, to nonactivated π-systems by using the SmI2–H2O reagent is reported. The transformation is operationally simple, scalable, and provides access to valuable angular 2-azabicycles containing three contiguous stereocenters with excellent diastereoselectivity (>95:5 dr). The protocol accommodates a wide range of π-acceptors that can be modulated by the alcohol additive used. Notably, the transformation provides the first general method for generation of aminoketyl radicals by a direct electron capture to amide bonds, thus opening new vistas for applications of these underutilized intermediates in a diverse array of open-shell reaction pathways. Systematic studies on the effects of additives, the scope and limitations of the reaction, and the reaction mechanism are reported.

Supporting Information