Arene dearomatization through a catalytic N-centered radical cascade reaction

Nat Commun. 2020 May 20;11(1):2528. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16369-4.

Abstract

Arene dearomatization reactions are an important class of synthetic technologies for the rapid assembly of unique chemical architectures. Herein, we report a catalytic protocol to initiate a carboamination/dearomatization cascade that proceeds through transient sulfonamidyl radical intermediates formed from native sulfonamide N-H bonds leading to 1,4-cyclohexadiene-fused sultams. Importantly, this work demonstrates a facile approach to employ two-dimensional aromatic compounds as modular building blocks to generate richly substituted, three-dimensional compounds. These reactions occur at room temperature under visible light irradiation and are catalyzed by the combination of an iridium(III) photocatalyst and a dialkyl phosphate base. Reaction optimization, substrate scope, mechanistic features, and synthetic applications of this transformation are presented.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Catalysis / radiation effects
  • Free Radicals / chemistry*
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Iridium / chemistry*
  • Light
  • Molecular Structure
  • Phosphates / chemistry
  • Sulfonamides / chemistry

Substances

  • Free Radicals
  • Phosphates
  • Sulfonamides
  • Iridium