Rhenium-catalyzed addition of carbonyl compounds to the carbon-nitrogen triple bonds of nitriles: alpha-C-H activation of carbonyl compounds.

The ReH(7)(PPh(3))(2)-catalyzed addition of carbonyl compounds to the carbon-nitrogen bond of nitriles proceeds efficiently and selectively to give the corresponding (Z)-enamines, which are important synthetic intermediates. The key step of the reaction is the chemoselective alpha-C-H activation of carbonyl compounds induced by the alpha-heteroatom effect in the presence of nitriles.