Carbon Dioxide: A Reagent for the Simultaneous Protection of Nucleophilic Centres and the Activation of Alternative Locations to Electrophilic Attack. Prt III. A New Synthetic Method for the ortho-Substitution of N-Monoalkylanilines

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)87558-X

N-Methyl- and N-ethyl-aniline are regiospecifically converted into a range of ortho-substituted derivatives, using carbon dioxide both for N-protection and as an intermediate carbanion stabilizing group, and t-butyllithium to lithiate the ortho-carbon atom.The rersulting lithium N-(ortho-substituted-phenyl)-N-methyl- and -N-ethylcarbamates undergo smooth acid-catalysed decarboxylation under mild conditions.No alpha-substituted products were detected.