Visible-Light-Driven Aza-ortho-quinone Methide Generation for the Synthesis of Indoles in a Multicomponent Reaction.
Yi-Yin LiuXiao-Ye YuJia-Rong ChenMing-Ming QiaoXiaotian QiDe-Qing ShiWen-Jing XiaoPublished in: Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) (2017)
A visible-light-driven radical-mediated strategy for the in situ generation of aza-ortho-quinone methides from 2-vinyl-substituted anilines and alkyl radical precursors is described. This process enables an efficient multicomponent reaction of 2-vinylanilines, halides, and sulfur ylides, and has a wide substrate scope and good functional group tolerance. Treatment of the cycloaddition products with a base leads to densely functionalized indoles in a single-flask operation.