A novel Brønsted acid promoted condensation reaction between a primary aniline and 2-hydroxycyclobutanone provides access to diverse tryptamine derivatives in moderate to good yields. The proposed mechanism involves an α-iminol rearrangement, ring expansion, ring closure, and a depart-and-return rearrangement process.
Key words
tandem reaction - carbocycles - nitrogen heterocycles - synthetic methods - α-iminol rearrangement