N-Iodosuccinimide-Mediated Synthesis of Benzo-Fused Bisimidazoles Enabled by a One-Pot Tandem Reaction of Fluorinated Propargyl Amidines

J Org Chem. 2023 Apr 7;88(7):4101-4111. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.2c02379. Epub 2023 Mar 16.

Abstract

A N-iodosuccinimide (NIS)-mediated divergent and efficient tandem reaction between fluorinated propargyl amidines and aromatic o-diamines without any metal catalyst and additive under mild reaction conditions was developed for the synthesis of benzo-fused bisimidazoles in moderate to excellent yields. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggested that this reaction proceeded by an intermediate of secondary amine derived from 5-iodomethyl imidazole, and NIS played another role of oxidation reagent to promote the formation of a benzimidazole motif.