Diastereoselective Hydrosilylation of N-(tert-Butylsulfinyl)imines Catalyzed by Zinc Acetate

An efficient zinc-catalyzed diastereoselective hydrosilylation of N-(tert-butylsulfinyl)imines has been developed that does not require the use of ligands or noble metals. A variety of N-(tert-butylsulfinyl)imines were reduced by this protocol in the presence of a catalytic amount of zinc acetate (5 mol-%) to provide the corresponding secondary amines in high yields with excellent diastereoselectivities (up to 98%de). This experimentally simple catalytic procedure is easily applicable to the synthesis of both aromatic and aliphatic amines by using triethoxysilane as an efficient hydrogen source.