After the standard reaction condition was established, we examined the scope of this iron-catalyzed amination reaction. As shown in
Scheme 1, this boron-promoted amination showed excellent functional group tolerance. Functional groups, such as, OMe, CN, OCF
3, SMe, hydroxyl, F, Cl, Br, I, OTs, OTf, Bpin, carboxylate, morpholinyl, amide, CF
3, alkenyl, alkynyl, and sulfone were all compatible with this catalytic system (
4, 6-
19, 31-
34). Nitroarenes with electron-donating groups exhibited good reactivity, providing the corresponding products in moderate to good yields (
3-
5, 75%-80%). The substrate with an electron-withdrawing group was also suitable for this transformation, giving rise to a moderate yield (
10, 76%). Importantly, the sensitive hydroxyl group usually readily reacts with alkyl halides under traditional C-N bond formation conditions, while it was well-tolerated in this protocol (
9, 71%). Substrates containing a halogen group or Bpin group proceeded this reaction smoothly (
10-
13, 51%-76%;
16, 60%), providing a good chance for the downstream transformations. Nitroarenes bearing a
π-conjugated system performed this amination efficiently, furnishing the desired products in moderate yields (
21-
24, 50%-70%). Moreover, the substrates bearing a heteroaromatic ring, such as pyridine, benzofuran, benzo[
d]thiazole, benzo[
d]oxazole, indole, and indazole were also demonstrated to be good substrates, delivering the corresponding products in reasonable yields (
25-
30, 50%-71%). Subsequently, some alkyl tosylates were evaluated. Primary and secondary alkyl tosylates were good coupling partners, affording the amination products in moderate to good yields (
31-
53, 45%-84%). Notably, alkyl tosylates with an alkenyl or alkynyl group could react well, providing the desired products in synthetically useful yields, while hydroboration of the unsaturated bonds did not occur (
32, 53%;
33, 54%). Alkyl tosylates bearing a functional group (such as sulfone and carboxylate) at the carbon chain underwent this amination smoothly, and moderate yields were obtained (
34, 58%;
36, 70%).