Samarium diiodide-promoted electrophilic amination of ketone enolates: efficient synthesis of quaternary carbon-containing α-aminated ketones

An efficient and practical electrophilic amination method that allows the preparation of useful quaternary carbon-containing α-aminoketones was developed. The reaction proceeds regiospecifically via a samarium enolate intermediate at room temperature in the presence of mild reducing agent SmI2. Unlike the most reported lithium enolate cases, this new amination method does not require the use of strong base such as BuLi or LDA.