One-pot synthesis of ferrocenyl-substituted allylamine derivatives by a three-component reaction of α-(hydroxy) alkyl ferrocenes, aldehydes and secondary amines†

We report an efficient one-pot, three-component synthesis of ferrocenyl-substituted allylamine derivatives with α-(hydroxy) alkyl ferrocenes, aldehydes and amines. The advantages of this method are its catalyst-free nature, broad substrate scope, operational simplicity and mild reaction conditions. The origin of this one-pot synthesis of ferrocenyl-substituted allylamine derivatives was explored through density functional theory calculations.