Metal-Free ß-Amino Alcohol Synthesis: A Two-step Smiles Rearrangement.

A novel method for the synthesis of ß-amino alcohols has been demonstrated under mild reaction conditions with a broad scope via a two-step Smiles rearrangement. What is more, theoretical calculations have been performed to confirm the rationality of the mechanism. The method has been proved to be notably effective for N-arylated amino alcohols, which are difficult to synthesize by traditional methods.