Regiospecific N-Arylation of Aliphatic Amines under Mild and Metal-Free Reaction Conditions

A transition metal-free N-arylation of primary and secondary amines with diaryliodonium salts is presented. Both acyclic and cyclic amines are well tolerated, providing a large set of N-alkyl anilines. The methodology is unprecedented among metal-free methods in terms of amine scope, the ability to transfer both electron-withdrawing and electron-donating aryl groups, and efficient use of resources, as excess substrate or reagents are not required.