Tunable, Chemoselective Amination via Silver Catalysis

Organic N-containing compounds, including amines, are essential components of many biologically and pharmaceutically important molecules. One strategy for introducing nitrogen into substrates with multiple reactive bonds is to insert a monovalent N fragment (nitrene or nitrenoid) into a C–H bond or add it directly to a C═C bond. However, it has been challenging to develop well-defined catalysts capable of promoting predictable and chemoselective aminations solely through reagent control. Herein, we report remarkable chemoselective aminations that employ a single metal (Ag) and a single ligand (phenanthroline) to promote either aziridination or C–H insertion by manipulating the coordination geometry of the active catalysts.