Hydroarylation of alkynes via dual ortho -C-H functionalization of diaryl amines on a dicopper(I,I) platform.

A pyridine and morpholine-functionalized dicopper(I,I)-NHC complex (1) features both terminal and bridging coordination modes of NHC within the same molecule, and catalyzes dual ortho -C-H functionalization of diaryl amines for the hydroarylation of alkynes. A bimetallic construct in catalyst 1 allows sequential activation of ortho -C-H bonds of two aryl units to furnish a wide variety of 9,10-dihydroacridine derivatives without the explicit use of a directing group.