Merging Visible Light with Cross-Coupling: The Photochemical Direct C-H Difluoroalkylation of Imidazopyridines

Org Lett. 2019 Oct 18;21(20):8169-8173. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.9b02487. Epub 2019 Aug 20.

Abstract

A transition-metal-free protocol for the difluoroalkylation of imidazopyridines with bromodifluoroaryl ketones promoted by visible light irradiation is presented. This protocol is distinguished by simple, mild, and catalyst-free reaction conditions with a wide reaction scope, which is complementary to existing difluoroalkylation strategies by photoredox scenarios. Additionally, this protocol potentially offers a new way for streamlining the synthesis of compounds containing the difluoro moiety.