Reactant-induced photoactivation of in situ generated organogold intermediates leading to alkynylated indoles via Csp2-Csp cross-coupling.

Photosensitization of organogold intermediates is an emerging field in catalysis. In this context, an access to 2,3-disubstituted indoles from o-alkynyl aniline and iodoalkyne derivatives via a gold-catalyzed sequence under visible-light irradiation and in the absence of an exogenous photocatalyst was uncovered. A wide scope of the process is observed. Of note, 2-iodo-ynamides can be used as electrophiles in this cross-coupling reaction. The resulting N-alkynyl indoles lend themselves to post-functionalization affording valuable scaffolds, notably benzo[a]carbazoles. Mechanistic studies converge on the fact that a potassium sulfonyl amide generates emissive aggregates in the reaction medium. Static quenching of these aggregates by a vinylgold(I) intermediate yields to an excited state of the latter, which can react with an electrophile via oxidative addition and reductive elimination to forge the key C-C bond. This reactant-induced photoactivation of an organogold intermediate opens rich perspectives in the field of cross-coupling reactions.

Access to functionalized luminescent Pt(ii) complexes by photoredox-catalyzed Minisci alkylation of 6-aryl-2,2'-bipyridines.

Photoredox-mediated C-H bond alkylation of 6-aryl-2,2'-bipyridines with N-(acyloxy)phthalimides is reported. The reaction exhibits excellent functional group tolerance, including chiral aliphatic groups. The influence of the incorporated C6'-alkyl group on the photophysical properties of the corresponding (N^N^C) cyclometalated Pt(ii) complexes is described, including chiroptical properties.

Synthesis of 2-Arylpyridines and 2-Arylbipyridines via Photoredox-Induced Meerwein Arylation with in Situ Diazotization of Anilines.

We report herein a sustainable method for the preparation of 2-arylpyridines through C-H arylation of pyridines using in situ formed diazonium salts (from commercially available aromatic amines) in the presence of a photoredox catalyst under blue light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation. The reaction is tolerant to a wide range of functional groups (e.g., halogen, nitrile, formyl, acetyl, ester). Applications to the C-H bond arylation of bipyridine ligands is also presented.

Short Synthesis of Sulfur Analogues of Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons through Three Palladium-Catalyzed C-H Bond Arylations.

An expeditious synthesis of a wide range of phenanthro[9,10-b]thiophene derivatives, which are a class of polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) containing a sulfur atom, is reported. The synthetic scheme involves only two operations from commercially available thiophenes, 2-bromobenzenesulfonyl chlorides and aryl bromides. In the first step, palladium-catalyzed desulfitative arylation using 2-bromobenzenesulfonyl chlorides allows the synthesis of thiophene derivatives, which are substituted at the C4 position by an aryl group containing an ortho-bromo substituent. Then, a palladium-catalyzed one-pot cascade intermolecular C5-arylation of thiophene using aryl bromides followed by intramolecular arylation led to the corresponding phenanthro[9,10-b]thiophenes in a single operation. In addition, PAHs containing two or three sulfur atoms, as well as both sulfur and nitrogen atoms, were also designed by this strategy.