Chemoselective N-tert-butyloxycarbonylation of amines in glycerolElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c8nj01585f

A catalyst-free, efficient and green protocol has been developed for the chemoselective N -Boc protection of amines by using glycerol as a solvent at room temperature. A variety of functionalized amines, such as aliphatic, aromatic as well as heteroaromatic were protected using the developed protocol. N-tert -Butyloxycarbonylation derivatives were formed without the formation of isocyanate, urea, N , N -di- t -Boc, or oxazolidinone as side products. The operational simplicity, cleaner reaction, rapid reaction convergence, functional group tolerance, excellent yield, high selectivity, catalyst-free feature and solvent recyclability are the distinct advantages of this protocol. Owing to these merits, this protocol is feasible, economical and environmentally benign. The operational simplicity, cleaner reaction, rapid reaction convergence, functional group tolerance, excellent yield, high selectivity, catalyst-free feature and solvent recyclability are the distinct advantages of this protocol. This makes the protocol feasible, economical and environmentally benign.