Silicon powder: the first nonmetal elemental catalyst for aminobromination of olefins with TsNH(2) and NBS.

Silicon powder was found, for the first time, to be an efficient alternative to transition metal catalysts for aminobromination of alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and simple olefins with p-toluenesulfonamide (4-TsNH(2)) and NBS, affording the aminobrominated products in high yields and regio- and stereoselectivity. The high reactivity of electron-rich substrates reveals that the reaction has the electrophilic addition feature.