A Route to Polysubstituted Aziridines from Carbenes and Imines through a Nondiazo Approach

An efficient method for the synthesis of polysubstituted aziridines utilizing enynones and imines is described. This transformation is achieved through the reaction of imines with donor/donor carbene intermediates, which were generated in situ from the cyclization of enynones. Furthermore, the resulted aziridines were good 1,3-dipoles, which could be efficiently trapped by dipolarophiles to give five-membered heterocycles. The obvious advantages of wide substrate scopes, mild reaction conditions, and high atom efficiency make this system highly appealing for construction of polysubstituted aziridines, 2,5-dihydropyroles, and 1,2,4-triazolidines.