2-Aminopyridines represent an important class of heterocyclic compounds due to their broad biological activities and medicinal significance. Herein, we report an efficient transition-metal-free synthesis of 2-aminopyridines from readily available phenylacetonitrile, benzonitrile, and phenylacetylene derivatives mediated by KN(SiMe3)2. This method exhibits a broad substrate scope (49 examples, 14–97% yields) and excellent scalability, highlighting its potential applications in medicinal chemistry. A plausible mechanism for the transformation was demonstrated.
Bai et al. (Wed,) studied this question.