Direct Nickel-Catalyzed Amination of Phenols via C-O Bond Activation using 2,4,6-Trichloro-1,3,5-triazine (TCT) as Reagent

2,4,6-Trichloro-1,3,5-triazine (TCT) was used as an efficient and mild reagent for the direct nickel-catalyzed amination of phenols. This reagent can promote amination of phenols via the activation of the phenolic C-O bond. In this simple protocol, the in situ generated aryl C-O electrophile (Ar-O-TCT) reacts with the desired amine to produce the corresponding arylamine in the presence of a nickel catalyst. This strategy is general for a variety of substrates to give the related arylamines in moderate to good yields. This method was also applied for nickel-catalyzed amination of phenols for the synthesis of primary aromatic amines using the reaction of Ar-O-TCT and ammonium carbonate under mild reaction conditions. With this method, phenolic compounds are converted to their corresponding anilines under mild conditions.