Acceptorless dehydrogenative amination of alkenes for the synthesis of N-heterocycles

Catalytic amination of alkenes is one of the most attractive reactions for the construction of complex heterocycles with nitrogen centers. Herein, we present that synergistic photoredox and cobaloxime catalysis allows for highly efficient and mild dehydrogenative reactions between various NH nucleophiles and di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted alkenes in the absence of external oxidants, thus enabling access to an array of N-heterocycles. Notably, both Z- and E-alkene-containing N-heterocycles are accessible. Mechanistic studies indicated that the Z-cinnamyl derivatives could be generated by photocatalytic E to Z alkene isomerization through an energy transfer process. Moreover, we find that sluggish energy transfer could inhibit the E to Z alkene isomerization process, thus offering the cinnamyl derivatives with E-selectivity. Our results highlight the benefits of the reactions using dual photoredox and cobaloxime catalysis to lead to diverse N-heterocycles.