Nucleophilic Amination of Aryl Halides with an Azanide Surrogate

Abstract

We report the development of an azanide (-NH2) surrogate which enables the facile conversion of (hetero)aryl halides into primary N-aryl amines under transition-metal-free conditions. The designed amidine reagent is easy to prepare, bench stable, and undergoes facile N-arylation under basic conditions at 40 °C. Intermediate N-aryl amidines are readily cleaved to form N-aryl amines in situ through hydrolysis or base-promoted elimination. The developed surrogate is a safer and more selective alternative to existing anionic N-nucleophiles, such as alkali metal amides or azide salts.

Keywords: Surrogate; amines; azanide; nucleophilic substitution; transition-metal-free.