NaI/PPh 3 -catalyzed visible-light-mediated decarboxylative radical cascade cyclization of N -arylacrylamides for the efficient synthesis of quaternary oxindoles.

A practical NaI/PPh 3 -catalyzed decarboxylative radical cascade cyclization of N -arylacrylamides with redox-active esters is described, which is mediated by visible light irradiation. A wide range of substrates bearing different substituents and derived from ubiquitous carboxylic acids, including α-amino acids, were synthesized and examined under this very mild, efficient, and cost effective transition-metal-free synthetic method. These afforded various functionalized oxindoles featuring a C3 quaternary stereogenic center. Mechanistic experiments suggest a radical mechanism.