One-Pot Synthesis of Orange-Red Fluorescent Dimeric 2 H-Pyrrolo[2,3- c]isoquinoline-2,5(3 H)-diones from Benzamides and Maleimides via Ru(II)-Catalyzed Sequential C-C/C-N/C-C Bond Formation

Org Lett. 2020 Feb 21;22(4):1605-1610. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.0c00194. Epub 2020 Jan 28.

Abstract

We report here a direct and efficient strategy for the synthesis of highly conjugated dimeric pyrrolo-fused isoquinoline derivatives from readily available benzamides and maleimides. This reaction overall proceeds by following a domino approach: C-C bond formation via challenging primary amide-directed Ru(II)-catalyzed ortho alkenylation followed by annulation and C-C bond formation through Ru(II)-catalyzed dehydrogenative dimerization. The resulting products showed substituent-dependent tunable photoluminescence in the orange-red region with reasonably large Stokes shifts and interesting redox properties.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't