Gallium Trichloride Catalyzed Hydroamination of Alkynes: Scope, Limitation, and Mechanistic Studies by DFT

The successful application of gallium trichloride as a catalyst for the intermolecular hydroamination of alkynes with aromatic amines is reported. The reaction is effective with many aniline derivatives and shows exclusive selectivity for the Markovnikov products. The mechanism of the transformation was investigated by DFT calculations and a plausible pathway is proposed.