Palladium-Catalyzed and Photoinduced Benzylic C-H Carbonylation/Annulation under Mild Conditions

Org Lett. 2022 Oct 14;24(40):7350-7354. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.2c02877. Epub 2022 Oct 5.

Abstract

A Pd-catalyzed and photoinduced benzylic cascade benzylic C-H carbonylation/annulation reaction is realized under mild conditions (35 °C, 2 bar CO). The use of a catalytic amount of base is crucial for the reaction to achieve high yields. The reaction consists of a Pd-catalyzed generation of amidyl radical from O-benzyl hydroxylamide substrates and 1,5-HAT to give a benzylic radical, followed by carbonylation and annulation. Various homophthalimides, which could be readily converted to a number of bioactive compounds, could be obtained with up to 96% yield.