A chiral phenoxyamine magnesium catalyst for the enantioselective hydroamination/cyclization of aminoalkenes and intermolecular hydroamination of vinyl arenes.

If Grignard had only known! A chiral magnesium complex catalyzes the intramolecular hydroamination/cyclization of aminoalkenes with high efficiency at temperatures as low as −20 °C and enantioselectivities as high as 93 % ee. The high activity of this system also allows the catalytic intermolecular anti-Markovnikov addition of pyrrolidine and benzylamine to vinyl arenes.