α-Chiral Amines via Thermally Promoted Deaminative Addition of Alkylpyridinium Salts to Sulfinimines

Org Lett. 2021 Oct 15;23(20):7735-7739. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.1c02708. Epub 2021 Sep 27.

Abstract

A deaminative reaction of Katritzky alkylpyridinium salts and sulfinimines has been developed to deliver enantiopure α-chiral amines. The success of this method relied on the discovery of a thermally promoted deamination via single-electron transfer of an anion-π complex of the alkylpyridinium cation with potassium carbonate. This method boasts excellent diastereoselectivity over the α-stereocenter as well as broad functional group and heterocycle tolerance.