Takahiro Kawakami, Kei Murakami, and Kenichiro Itami

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, Just accepted.  DOI: 10.1021/ja5130012.

Easy installation of nitrogen into arenes

Versatile imidation of aromatic C–H bonds was accomplished. In the presence of copper bromide and 6,6’-dimethyl-2,2’-bipyridyl, a range of aromatics, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aromatic bowls, porphyrins, heteroaromatics, and natural products, can be imidated by N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide. A dramatic ligand-accelerated copper catalysis and an interesting kinetic profile were uncovered.