Synthesis of hindered tertiary amines by a mild reductive amination procedure

An efficient metal-free procedure for the synthesis of tertiary amines by the reductive amination of carbonyl compounds is reported, which allows a convergent access to sterically hindered amines of the general formulas NR(R′)2 and NRR′R″. The mild and operationally simple protocol uses the Hantzsch ester for transfer hydrogenation and catalytic amounts of thiourea for imine activation.