Tandem reactions catalyzed by lanthanide iodides. Part 2: Tandem iminoaldol–enolisation reactions

Samarium diiodide is a catalyst for the reaction of cyclic and acyclic tert-butyldimethylsilyl enoxysilanes with chelating imines. Reaction products are isolated as β-aminoenoxysilanes instead of β-aminoketones as previously observed with the corresponding trimethylsilyl enoxysilanes. Several mechanistic pathways are discussed.