Cobalt/Copper-Cocatalyzed Synthesis of Imidazo[1,2-a:3,4-a']dipyridiniums from 2H-[1,2'-Bipyridin]-2-ones and 2-Bromoacetophenones.

A cobalt/copper-cocatalyzed facile synthesis of imidazo[1,2-a:3,4-a']dipyridiniums from 2H-[1,2'-bipyridin]-2-ones and 2-bromoacetophenones is presented. This strategy provides an alternative to the imidazo[1,2-a:3,4-a']dipyridinium synthesis by employing readily available substrates and a simple procedure, which would render this method potentially useful in organic synthesis.