Phenoxysulfonyl azide (PSA, 1) was synthesized from 1,1'-sulfonylbis(2-methyl-1H-imidazole) (2) and studied for its diazo-transfer reactivity. The reaction with 1 was found to convert primary amines 3 into their corresponding azides 4, even without a metal catalyst. Accordingly, PSA is a new diazo-transfer reagent for the metal-free conversion of amines to azides, thereby facilitating organic azides to be prepared from biomolecules.

You have access to this article

Please wait while we load your content... Something went wrong. Try again?