Acid-catalyzed chemodivergent reactions of 2,2-dimethoxyacetaldehyde and anilines

Abstract Chemodivergent reactions of 2,2-dimethoxyacetaldehyde and anilines were described, which were established on the basis of either a C C bond cleavage or a rearrangement process of a reaction intermediate. These reactions proceeded in a condition-determined manner with good functional group tolerance. In the first model, 2,2-dimethoxyacetaldehyde reacted with aniline to form a new C N bond, in the presence of O2, via a C C bond cleavage reaction. However, in the second model, by performing the reaction in the absence of O2, Heyns rearrangement occurred and generated a new C O bond to form methyl phenylglycinate. Such condition-determined reactions not only offered the new way for value-added conversion of biomass-derived platform molecule, 2, 2-dimethoxyacetaldehyde, but also provided efficient methods for the synthesis of N-arylformamides and methyl phenylglycinates.