Iron-Catalyzed Radical Acyl-Azidation of Alkenes with Aldehydes: Synthesis of Unsymmetrical β-Azido Ketones.

An iron-catalyzed acyl-azidation of alkenes under mild reaction conditions has been developed. Aromatic aldehydes or aliphatic aldehydes can be used as the acyl radical precursors; TMSN3 is used as the azido source; TBHP is the initiator. The synthesized unsymmetrical β-azido ketones can be easily transformed into valuable functionalized compounds, such as γ-aminol, γ-azido alcohol, β-azido oxime, β-azido ester, and triazoles.