Highly Efficient One‐Pot Synthesis of 2‐Arylmethyl N‐Substituted Anilines via Yb(OTf)₃ Catalyzed Three‐Component Reaction

Abstract

An efficient method has been developed for one‐pot three‐component coupling reactions of various aldehydes, 1‐cyclohexen‐2‐one, and primary or secondary amines in the presence of a catalytic amount of Yb(OTf)3 under mild conditions to afford the corresponding 2‐arylmethyl N‐substituted anilines in good yields. In addition, the catalyst was easily recovered and could be reused for at least four cycles without any loss of activity.