Senior Investigators: Prof. John Hartwig (UC-Berkeley), Prof. Karen Goldberg (U. Wash.).

The discovery of efficient catalysts for the hydroamination of alkenes could have a tremendous impact on the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, of fine chemicals and of commodity chemicals. Especially desirable would be a process that allows the selective formation of the anti-Markovnikov product. The Hartwig and Goldberg laboratories are collaborating to find solutions to this challenging and as yet unsolved synthetic problem.

To develop catalysts for the direct, anti-Markovnikov hydroamination of alkenes, elementary reactions that form C(sp³)-N bonds from metal-akyl complexes or form the C(sp³)-N bonds in aminoalkyl complexes are needed. These reactions are the challenging steps of two potential catalytic cycles for anti-Markovnikov hydroamination shown below.