A Photochemical Intramolecular C-N Coupling Toward the Synthesis of Benzimidazole-Fused Phenanthridines.

Herein, we report a direct photochemical dehydrogenative C-N coupling of unactivated C(sp2)-H and N(sp2)-H bonds. The catalysts or additive-free transformation of 2-([1,1'-biphenyl]-2-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole to benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-f]phenanthridine was achieved at ∼350 nm of irradiation via ε-hydrogen abstraction. DFT calculations helped to understand that the N-H···π interaction was essential for the reaction to proceed at a lower energy than expected.