A 2,6-bis(phenylamino)pyridinato titanium catalyst for the highly regioselective hydroaminoalkylation of styrenes and 1,3-butadienes.

The C-C bond forming catalytic hydroaminoalkylation of terminal alkenes, 1,3-dienes, or styrenes allows a direct and highly atom efficient (100 %) synthesis of amines which can result in the formation of two regioisomers, the linear and the branched product. We present a new titanium catalyst with 2,6-bis(phenylamino)pyridinato ligands for intermolecular hydroaminoalkylation reactions of styrenes and 1-phenyl-1,3-butadienes that delivers the corresponding linear hydroaminoalkylation products with excellent regioselectivities.