Interception of Cobalt-Based Carbene Radicals with α-Aminoalkyl Radicals: A Tandem Reaction for the Construction of β-Ester-γ-amino Ketones

The interception of cobalt-based carbene radicals with -aminoalkyl radicals was combined with the Kornblum-DeLaMare reaction and provides -ester--amino ketones, which are otherwise difficult to obtain in high chemoselectivity. Mechanistically, this transformation is an interplay of cobalt-based carbene radicals, organoradicals, and ionic intermediates and involves the construction of two CC bonds and one CO bond in a one-pot process. The reaction also features a wide substrate scope and is highly efficient and insensitive to moisture and air.