Brّnsted acid promoted imino-ene reactions

A series of all-carbon olefins react with glyoxylate derived imines in the presence of a phosphonic acid through an ene reaction. The isolation of the α-aminoester products is a clear indication that Brønsted acids efficiently promote the imino-ene reaction with hydrocarbon nucleophiles to deliver functionalized α-aminoesters in good yield. The reaction scope and preliminary mechanistic investigations are discussed.