reductive monoalkyl- ation of amines and amine derivatives with aldehydes is reported. Treatment of aldehydes with primary amines, secondaryamines, O- trimethylsilylhydroxylamine, and N,N-dimethylhydrazine in lithi- um perchlorate/diethylether and trimethylsilyl chloride, followed by BH3·NEt3 reduction, and straightforward workup afforded sec- ondary amines, tertiary amines, N-substituted hydroxylamines
Herein we report a novel palladium-catalyzedoxidativecarbonylation reaction for the synthesis of phthalimides with high atom- and step-economy. In our strategy, the imine and H2O, which are generated in situ from the condensation of aldehyde and amine, serve as self-sufficient directing group and nucleophile, respectively. This method provides rapid access to phthalimides starting from readily available