A highly efficient and mild Cu-catalyzed conjugate addition reaction of aromatic amines and aromatic aza-heterocycles to α,β-unsaturated olefins is described. The transformation is promoted by 3-7 mol % of a Cu complex generated in situ from a mixture of inexpensive CuCl, a readily available phosphine or imidazolium salt, and KOt-Bu at ambient temperature. A wide range of β-amino sulfone, β-amino nitrile, and β-amino carbonyl compounds is efficiently and selectively synthesized in high yields (62-99%).

We present a new and straightforward one-pot process for the synthesis of 3-carbonyl-4-quinolone derivatives through highly efficient Cu-catalyzed aza-Michael addition of 2-aminobenzoates to β-substituted α,β-unsaturated ketones/cyclization/mild oxidation reactions. A broad range of new versatile 3-carbonyl-quinolin-4(1H)-ones is prepared from readily available chemicals under mild reaction conditions with short reaction times, producing good to excellent yields (up to 99%).

A new copper-catalyzed protocol for the intermolecular anti-Markovnikov addition of arylamines or heterocycles to terminal and unsymmetrical 1,2-disubstituted vinylarenes has been developed. The direct hydroamination is catalyzed by a readily available N-heterocyclic carbene-based copper complex and KOt-Bu, and the use of MeOH as an additive enhances the reactivity. The method provides a broad range of new and versatile amine compounds bearing various functional groups in good to excellent yields. a] Reaction conditions: nitrostyrene 1 a (0.40 mmol), amine 2 (0.48 mmol), MeOH (0.40 mmol), IPrCuCl (5 mol%), KOt-Bu (5 mol%), toluene (1.0 M) under N 2 . [b] Yields of the isolated products. The reaction time was 7 h for 3 aa-3 ag and 12 h for 3 ah-3 aq.

No abstract

The reactions are carried out in the presence of a Cu complex, formed from CuCl/KOtBu and a specified ligand.