Nitrogen Functionalization with <i>N</i>-(Fluorosulfonyl)carbamates

Carbon-nitrogen bond formation with ammonia or its equivalent has been a major research field in organic chemistry since the discovery of Wöhler’s urea synthesis. Given the versatility of nitrogen-doped organic molecules in natural products, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and materials, many such transformations have been conceived during the last 200 years. While the focus has shifted more and more to developing new catalysts rather than reagents to achieve this goal, over the last couple of years we have been intrigued by the possibility of inventing new ammonia equivalents which suit modern catalytic synthesis. We review herein our recent study triggered by this renewed interest in reagent design, which has led to the discovery and application of N-(fluorosulfonyl)carbamates as a new class of aminating reagents.