Visible-Light-Mediated Deaminative Alkylation of Primary Amines with Silacarboxylic Acids via Isonitrile Formation

The functionalization of the C-N bond of amines is a straightforward strategy for the construction of complex scaffolds or for the late-stage functionalization of pharmaceuticals. Herein, we describe a photoredox-catalyzed strategy for the deaminative alkylation of primary amine-derived isonitriles that provides unnatural amino acid derivatives under mild conditions. The use of silacarboxylic acids as silyl radical precursors enables the generation of carbon-centered radicals that allow the construction of Csp³-Csp³ bonds via a Giese-type addition, avoiding the undesired hydrodeamination product.