Cobalt-Porphyrin-Catalysed Intramolecular Ring-Closing C-H Amination of Aliphatic Azides: A Nitrene-Radical Approach to Saturated Heterocycles.

Cobalt-porphyrin-catalysed intramolecular ring-closing C-H bond amination enables direct synthesis of various N-heterocycles from aliphatic azides. Pyrrolidines, oxazolidines, imidazolidines, isoindolines and tetrahydroisoquinoline can be obtained in good to excellent yields in a single reaction step with an air- and moisture-stable catalyst. Kinetic studies of the reaction in combination with DFT calculations reveal a metallo-radical-type mechanism involving rate-limiting azide activation to form the key cobalt(III)-nitrene radical intermediate.