Rhodium(III)-catalyzed oxidative annulation of N -arylbenzamidines with maleimides via dual C-H activation.

An oxidative annulation of N -arylbenzimidamides with maleimides has been developed for the first time using a catalytic amount of the [Cp*RhCl 2 ] 2 complex for the synthesis of a diverse range of 1 H -benzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1- a ]pyrrolo[3,4- c ]isoquinoline-1,3(2 H )-dione derivatives. This method is versatile and atom-economical for producing polycyclic benzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1- a ]pyrrolo[3,4- c ] isoquinoline-1,3(2 H )-dione scaffolds in a single step.