Expedient Cobalt-Catalyzed C-H Alkynylation of (Enantiopure) Benzylamines

Org Lett. 2016 Oct 21;18(20):5252-5255. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.6b02549. Epub 2016 Oct 4.

Abstract

A unified strategy for cobalt-catalyzed ortho-C-H bond alkynylation of benzylamines is reported. Simple, commercially available CoBr2 was used as a cobalt source. The developed alkynylation strategy is robust and efficient and has a broad substrate scope including 1°, 2°, and 3° benzylamines. The mechanistic study shows that C-H bond cleavage is reversible, and the kinetic study illustrates that the rate of reaction depends solely on the catalyst.