Metal-Free N–H Insertions of Donor/Acceptor Carbenes

Abstract

Synthetically useful transformations arise from the thermal decomposition of aryldiazoacetates in the presence of primary and secondary amines without the use of a metal catalyst. Thermally generated, free donor/acceptor carbenes directly undergo N–H insertion with amines through selective aza-ylide formation to afford a variety of α-amino esters in 53–96% yields