Beilstein J Org Chem. 2012;8:1747-52. doi: 10.3762/bjoc.8.199. Epub 2012 Oct 12.
Beilstein journal of organic chemistry
Alan Armstrong, Alexandra Ferguson
PMID: 23209508 PMCID: PMC3511008 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.8.199
tert-Butyl cinnamates are aziridinated with high trans-selectivity by an N-N ylide generated in situ from N-methylmorpholine and O-diphenylphosphinyl hydroxylamine. The resulting N-unfunctionalised aziridines are shown to be versatile synthetic building blocks that undergo highly selective ring-opening reactions with a wide range of nucleophiles.
Keywords: amino acids; aziridination; organocatalysis; ring opening; stereoselectivity