N-Aryl glycines and their analogues have been widely explored in visible-light-promoted photoredox reactions to install an aminomethyl moiety or construct various N-heterocycles under mild conditions. Recent advances in this field have been summarized into five categories: (i) radical addition initiated aminomethylation reactions, (ii) radical-radical cross coupling reactions, (iii) radical-triggered annulation reactions, (iv) transformations involving imines, (v) metallophotoredox dual catalysis.

Abstract

The aminomethylation reaction, a fundamental and versatile organic transformation is extensively utilized to incorporate an aminomethyl group into target molecules and plays a significant role in the synthesis of natural products and functional molecules. In recent years, N-Aryl glycines and their analogues have been widely explored in visible-light-promoted photoredox reactions to install an aminomethyl moiety or construct various N-heterocycles under mild conditions. Their key reaction intermediates are α-aminoalkyl radicals, imines, or iminium ions. Recent advances in this field have been summarized into five categories according to the proposed reaction mechanisms: (i) radical addition initiated aminomethylation reactions, (ii) radical-radical cross coupling reactions, (iii) radical-triggered annulation reactions, (iv) transformations involving imines, and (v) metallophotoredox dual catalysis. We hope this review will give an overview of visible-light-promoted photoredox reactions of N-aryl glycines and their analogues and drive further research progress in this area.