Alpha-oxidation of amine derivatives by azodicarboxylate was examined. Among several azodicarboxylate esters and amides tested, bis(2,2,2-trichloroethyl) azodicarboxylate, that has highly electrophilic 2,2,2-trichloroethoxycarbonyl functional groups, was found to have excellent oxidation reactivity. Acylated or carbamoylated amines were suitable substrates for this reaction condition. Tertially amines could react in the same manner, but spontaneous elimination of hydrazinyl group occurred to give dimerized products. The reaction products were found to react with nucleophiles in the presence of Lewis or Bronsted acid catalyst. This strongly suggests that the reaction products, alpha-hydrazinated amine derivatives, might serve as carbonyl group equivalents, very useful intermediates in synthetic organic chemistry.
An efficient alpha-oxidation of amines can be accomplished using bis(2,2,2-trichloroethyl) azodicarboxylate, which is more electrophilic than diethyl azodicarboxylate, often used in synthetic chemistry. N-Acetyl and N-tert-butoxycarbonylamines are good substrates for this alpha-oxidation, and in the case of N-phenylpyrrolidine an interesting dimerization reaction is followed by alpha-oxidation. The alpha-oxidation product can be transformed in the presence of nucleophiles and a Lewis acid to alpha-modified amines, presumably via an iminium intermediate.