A practical method for the aziridination of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds with a simple carbamate utilizing sodium hypochlorite pentahydrate.

The efficient formation of tert -butyl N -chloro- N -sodio-carbamate by the reaction of simple tert -butyl carbamate with sodium hypochlorite pentahydrate (NaOCl·5H 2 O) would be a practical and green method for the aziridination of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. The process described herein is transition-metal free, all of the materials are commercially available, the byproducts (NaCl and H 2 O) are environmentally benign and the reaction is stereoselective. The resulting aziridines are potential precursors of amino acids.