Manganese (IV) oxide-catalyzed electrophilic diamination of electron-deficient alkenes provides an easy synthesis of α,β-diamino acid and ketone derivatives for peptidomimetic studies

: Manganese (IV) oxide was found to catalyze the diamination reaction of α,β‐unsaturated esters and ketones with N,N‐dichloro‐p‐toluenesulfonamide and acetonitrile as the halogen and nitrogen sources. The reaction is convenient to be conducted by simply mixing three reactants in the presence of manganese dioxide catalyst and 4 Å molecular sieves, and provides an easy access to 1‐p‐toluenesulfonyl‐3‐trichloromethyl‐4,5‐imidazoline derivatives, which are useful building blocks for peptidomimetic studies.