Intermolecular Aryl C−H Amination through Sequential Iron and Copper Catalysis

A mild, efficient and regioselective method for para-amination of activated arenes has been developed through a combination of iron and copper catalysis. A diverse range of products were obtained from an operationally simple one-pot, two-step procedure involving bromination of the aryl substrate with the powerful Lewis acid iron(III) triflimide, followed by a copper(I)-catalysed N-arylation reaction. This two-step dehydrogenative process for the regioselective coupling of aromatic C-H bonds with non-activated amines was applicable to anisole-, phenol-, aniline- and acetanilide-type aryl compounds. Importantly, the arene substrates were used as the limiting reagent and required no protecting-group manipulations during the transformation.