Visible-Light-Induced Synthesis of Branched Ethers via Multicomponent Reactions

J Org Chem. 2023 Jul 21;88(14):10014-10019. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c00804. Epub 2023 Jul 7.

Abstract

The Spin-Center Shift (SCS) elimination is a specific way for the generation of radicals with relevance in synthetic and biochemical pathways. The combination of SCS-mediated radical chemistry and atom-transfer radical addition (ATRA) offers new directions in diversity-oriented chemical synthesis. Herein, we report a photoredox three-component reaction of α-acyloxy-N-heterocycles as radical precursors, styrene derivatives as radical trapping agents, and alcohols as nucleophilic quenchers. The novel radical-polar crossover reaction provides access to a diverse set of branched ethers possessing high structural complexity. The utility of the transformation was also demonstrated by the synthesis of a complex drug derivative and it was easily scalable to the multigram level. The scope and limitations were also explored and a plausible mechanism was proposed.