Benzazetidine synthesis via palladium-catalysed intramolecular C−H amination

Small-sized N-heterocycles are important structures in organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry. Palladium-catalysed intramolecular aminations of the C−H bonds of unfunctionalized amine precursors have recently emerged as an attractive new method for N-heterocycle synthesis. However, the way to control the reactivity of high-valent Pd intermediates to form the desired C−N cyclized products selectively remains poorly addressed. Herein we report a strategy to control the reductive elimination (RE) pathways in high-valent Pd catalysis and apply this strategy to achieve the synthesis of highly strained four-membered benzazetidines via the Pd-catalysed intramolecular C−H amination of N-benzyl picolinamides. These reactions represent the first practical synthetic method for benzazetidines and enable access to a range of complex benzazetidines from easily obtainable starting materials. The use of a newly designed phenyliodonium dimethylmalonate reagent is critical, as oxidation of Pd(II) palladacycles with this reagent favours a kinetically controlled C−N RE pathway to give strained ring-closed products.