Aminoketyl Radicals in Organic Synthesis: Stereoselective Cyclization of Five- and Six-Membered Cyclic Imides to 2-Azabicycles Using SmI2-H2O

Synthetic application of aminoketyl radicals [R-C-center dot(O-)NR'R ''] formed by a direct electron capture into the amide bond is limited. Herein, we demonstrate addition of aminoketyl radicals to unactivated alkenes using SmI2-H2O as a crucial promoter based on the generic five- and six-membered imide template. Notably, this method enables direct access to aminoketyl radicals with wide-ranging applications in synthesis for the formation of C-C bonds adjacent to nitrogen via polarity reversal.