Department of Chemistry Seminar - Copper-Catalyzed Selective Aminofunctionalization of Alkenes and Dienes

Speaker: Professor Qiu WANG

Institution: Department of Chemistry, Duke University

Hosted By: Professor Rongbiao TONG

Abstract

Aminofunctionalization of alkenes represents a direct and powerful strategy to transform simple and readily available olefins into richly functionalized nitrogen-containing compounds of great value. Toward this end, we have developed copper-catalyzed alkene aminofunctionalization reactions by exploring electrophilic amination and the coupling reactions of versatile nucleophiles. These methods afford a rapid and direct access to a diverse range of 1,2-amino alcohols, 1,2-amino halides, and medicinally valuable (hetero)arylethylamines. Mechanistic studies on these reactions have revealed a novel electrophilic amination-initiated activation pathway that has great potentials for a general, powerful platform for designing regio- and stereoselective new functionalization transformations of alkenes and dienes.