Iron-Catalyzed C-C Bond Cleavage and C-N Bond Formation

A novel approach for C?N bond formation was developed by iron-catalyzed C?C bond cleavage. Anilines and sulfonamides reacted smoothly with 2-substituted 1,3-diphenylpropane-1,3-diones to afford N-alkylation products, in which the 1,3-dicarbonyl group acts as a leaving group in the presence of an iron catalyst. The reversible C?C bond cleavage plays a driving force to give the thermodynamically stable products. The method is complementary to the previous methods for C?N bond formation.