A Broad Substrate Scope of Aza-Friedel–Crafts Alkylation for the Synthesis of Quaternary α‑Amino Esters

A versatile synthetic protocol of aza-Friedel–Crafts alkylation has been developed for the synthesis of quaternary α-amino esters. This operationally simple alkylation proceeds under ambient conditions with high efficiency, regioselectivity, and an exceptionally broad scope of arene nucleophiles. A key feature of this alkylation is the role associated with the silver­(I) salt counteranions liberated during the reaction. Taking advantage of a phase-transfer counteranion/Brønsted acid pair mechanism, we also report a catalytic enantioselective example of the reaction.