A photoredox decarboxylative coupling of N-hydroxyphthalimide esters with aldimines is reported for synthesizing α-amino esters. A broad scope of alkyl radicals generated under visible light irradiation adds to glyoxylate aldimines in reliably good to excellent yields. Adding inorganic bases such as potassium carbonate significantly enhanced the yields by suppressing the umpolung side reaction. The
The first Fe(OTf)2-catalyzed radical addition to aldimines with Hantzsch ester as a two-hydrogen atom donor is reported. The tin-free reaction works well for electron-deficient substrates and provides a potentially useful approach to α-branched amines and α-amino acids.