Primary and N-alkyl arylamine motifs are key functional groups in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and functional materials as well as in bioactive natural products. However, there is a dearth of generally applicable methods for the direct replacement of aryl hydrogens with –NH2/-NH-alkyl moieties. Here, we present a mild dirhodium-catalyzed C-H amination for conversion of structurally diverse monocyclic and fused aromatics to the corresponding primary and N-alkyl arylamines using either NH2/NHalkyl-O-(sulfonyl)hydroxylamines as aminating agents; the relatively weak RSO2O-N bond functions as an internal oxidant. The methodology is operationally simple, scalable, and fast at or below ambient temperature, furnishing arylamines in moderate-to-good yields and with good regioselectivity. It can be readily extended to the synthesis of fused N-heterocycles.
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