Benzotriazole-mediated amidoalkylations of nitroalkanes, nitriles, alkynes and esters

Reactions of readily available and stable N-(α-amidoalkyl)benzotriazoles 1 (derived from a variety of aliphatic, aromatic or heterocyclic aldehydes) with diverse nitroalkanes, nitriles, alkynes and esters afforded N-(β-nitroalkyl)amides 4 (54-96%), N-(β-cyanoalkyl)amides 6 (58-88%), N-acylpropargylamines 11 (41-87%) and esters of β-N-acylamino acids 13 (68-96%), respectively.