Dehydrogenative Cross-Coupling Reactions of N-Aryl alpha-Amino Acid Esters with Nitroalkanes for the Synthesis of beta-Nitro alpha-Amino Acid Esters

摘要

A novel copper-catalyzed dehydrogenative cross-coupling reaction of N-aryl alpha-amino acid esters with nitroalkanes to give beta-nitro alpha-amino acid esters was developed. Various N-aryl alpha-amino acid esters reacted smoothly with nitroalkanes to give the desired coupling products in moderate to good yields. The method uses a cheap and simple copper salt as a catalyst and molecular oxygen as an environmentally benign oxidant. A possible mechanism for the dehydrogenative cross-coupling reaction is proposed.