Efficient copper-catalyzed N-arylations of nitrogen-containing heterocycles and aliphatic amines in water

A simple and efficient copper-catalyzed method has been developed for N-arylations of nitrogen-containing heterocycles and aliphatic amines in water. The protocol uses (1E,2E)-oxalaldehyde dioxime (OADO) as the ligand, and water as the solvent, and shows good tolerance towards various functional groups.