Catalytic Staudinger Reduction at Room Temperature

J Org Chem. 2019 May 17;84(10):6536-6545. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.9b00831. Epub 2019 May 9.

Abstract

We report an efficient catalytic Staudinger reduction at room temperature that enables the preparation of a structurally diverse set of amines from azides in excellent yields. The reaction is based on the use of catalytic amounts of triphenylphosphine as a phosphine source and diphenyldisiloxane as a reducing agent. Our catalytic Staudinger reduction exhibits a high chemoselectivity, as exemplified by reduction of azides over other common functionalities, including nitriles, alkenes, alkynes, esters, and ketones.