Free Amino Group-Directed γ‑C(sp³)–H Arylation of α‑Amino Esters with Diaryliodonium Triflates by Palladium Catalysis

Free amino group-directed C­(sp3)–H functionalization of aliphatic amines is a fundamental challenge in synthetic organic chemistry. Also, the NH2-directed C­(sp3)–H functionalization of α-amino acids and their derivatives remains barely explored. With palladium as the catalyst and Ag2O as the additive, we developed the first NH2-directed γ-C­(sp3)–H arylation of α-amino esters with diaryliodonium triflates for the construction of synthetically useful γ-aryl-α-amino esters, and the result of the KIE study suggested that the catalytic reaction involved an irreversible C–H cleavage as the rate-determining step