Substrate Promiscuity of ortho-Naphthoquinone Catalyst: Catalytic Aerobic Amine Oxidation Protocols to Deaminative Cross-Coupling and N‑Nitrosation

ortho-Naphthoquinone-based organocatalysts have been identified as versatile aerobic oxidation catalysts. Primary amines were readily cross-coupled with primary nitroalkanes via deaminative pathway to give nitroalkene derivatives in good to excellent yields. Secondary and tertiary amines were inert to ortho-naphthoquinone catalysts; however, secondary nitroalkanes were readily converted by ortho-naphthoquinone catalysts to the corresponding nitrite species that in situ oxidized the amines to the corresponding N-nitroso compounds. Without using harsh oxidants in a stoichiometric amount, the present catalytic aerobic oxidation protocol utilizes the substrate promiscuity feature to provide a facile access to amine oxidation products under mild reaction conditions.