Copper-catalyzed ortho -thiocyanation of aromatic amines.

A copper-catalyzed direct ortho -Csp2 -H thiocyanation of free anilines has been developed. This method employs stable and non-toxic ammonium thiocyanate as a thiocyanation source, and tert -butyl hydroperoxide as the oxidant, enabling the synthesis of ortho -thiocyanated anilines with good yields and broad substrate tolerance. Hitherto, no reports have been found in the literature for the ortho -thiocyanation of aromatic amines, making this reaction an important breakthrough in synthetic organic chemistry.