The direct reductive amination of electron-deficient amines with aldehydes: the unique reactivity of the Re2O7 catalyst

An unprecedented direct reductive amination of electron-deficient amines such as Cbz-, Boc-, EtOCO-, Fmoc-, Bz-, ArSO2-, Ar2PO-, etc. protected amines with aldehydes is achieved using the Re2O7 catalyst and silanes as the hydride source. Excellent regioselective mono-alkylation and chemoselective reductive-amination were observed.