Double C-H amination by consecutive SET oxidations.

A new method for intramolecular C-H oxidative amination is based on a FeCl3-mediated oxidative reaction of anilines with activated sp(3) C-H bonds. The amino group plays multiple roles in the reaction cascade: (1) as the activating group in single-electron-transfer (SET) oxidation process, (2) as a directing group in benzylic/allylic C-H activation at a remote position, and (3) internal nucleophile trapping reactive intermediates formed from the C-H activation steps. These multielectron oxidation reactions proceed with catalytic amounts of Fe(iii) and inexpensive reagents.