Highly atom efficient guanylation of both aromatic and secondary amines catalyzed by simple lanthanide amides.

It is demonstrated that the cyclopentadienyl-free simple lanthanide amides [(Me(3)Si)(2)N](3)Ln(mu-Cl)Li(THF)(3)(Ln = La, Sm, Eu, Y, Yb) and Ln[N(SiMe(3))(2)]3 (Ln = Y, Yb) are highly efficient catalysts for the guanylation of both aromatic and secondary amines with a high activity under mild conditions. It is found that these catalysts are compatible with a wide range of solvents and substrates.