Synthesis of Benzoselenophenes via TMSCN-Enabled Radical-Mediated Tandem Reaction Involving Enamides and Elemental Selenium

Org Lett. 2023 Sep 15;25(36):6665-6670. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c02485. Epub 2023 Aug 31.

Abstract

This study presents a TMSCN-enabled tandem reaction involving enamides and elemental selenium to access a diverse array of benzoselenophenes. Notably, this methodology involves the direct 2-fold C(sp2)-H bond activation without the need for preinstalled halides or boronic acids as reaction handles. The protocol offers several noteworthy features, including the absence of transition metals and strong oxidants, high reaction efficiency, broad substrate scopes, and the use of stable elemental selenium as a selenium source.