Palladium-Catalyzed Norbornene-Mediated Tandem Amination/Cyanation Reaction: A Method for the Synthesis of ortho-Aminated Benzonitriles

A palladium-catalyzed, norbornene-mediated tandem amination/cyanation reaction via Catellani-type C-H functionalization was developed using N-benzoyloxyamines as the amination reagent and Zn(CN)2 as the terminating agent. This transformation, in which one C-N bond and one C-C bond are formed, provides an efficient approach for the synthesis of ortho-aminated benzonitriles in one pot from easily accessible starting materials.