Multicomponent Synthesis of Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines: Aerobic Oxidative Formation of C-N and C-S Bonds by Flavin-Iodine-Coupled Organocatalysis.

Herein, we report an aerobic oxidative C-N bond-forming process that enables the facile synthesis of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and takes advantage of a coupled organocatalytic system that uses flavin and iodine. Furthermore, the dual catalytic system can be applied to the one-pot, three-step synthesis of 3-thioimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines from aminopyridines, ketones, and thiols.