Copper-catalyzed aerobic decarboxylative coupling between cyclic α-amino acids and diverse C–H nucleophiles with low catalyst loading

An aerobic decarboxylative cross-coupling of α-amino acids with diverse C–H nucleophiles has been realized using Cu(2)(OH)(2)CO(3) (1 mol%) as the catalyst under air. This protocol enables highly efficient formation of various C(sp(3))–C(sp(3)), C(sp(3))–C(sp(2)) and C(sp(3))–C(sp) bonds under simple conditions without the use of any ligand or extra oxidant, providing a practical approach to numerous nitrogen-containing compounds in good to excellent yields. The efficiency and practicability were also demonstrated by the gram-scale experiment and three-step synthesis of a Rad51 inhibitor.