Rhodium-Catalyzed Reaction of Azobenzenes and Nitrosoarenes toward Phenazines.

A rhodium-catalyzed annulative reaction between azobenzenes and nitrosoarenes has been developed, leading to a series of phenazines in moderate to good yields. This procedure proceeds with sequential chelation-assisted addition of aryl C-H to nitrosoarenes and ring closure by electrophilic attack of azo group to aryl. During this transformation, the azo group served as not only a traceless directing group but also a building block in the final products.