Visible-Light-Induced Amination of Quinoline at the C8 Position via a Postcoordinated Interligand-Coupling Strategy under Mild Conditions.

The postcoordinated interligand-coupling strategy provides a useful and complementary protocol for synthesizing polydentate ligands. Herein, diastereoselective photoreactions of Λ-[Ir(pq)2(d-AA)] (Λ-d) and Λ-[Ir(pq)2(l-AA)] (Λ-l, where pq is 2-phenylquinoline and AA is an amino acid) are reported in the presence of O2 under mild conditions. Diastereomer Λ-d is dehydrogenatively oxidized into an imino acid complex, while diastereomer Λ-l mainly occurs via interligand C-N cross-dehydrogenative coupling between quinoline at the C8 position and AA ligands at room temperature, affording Λ-[Ir(pq)(l-pq-AA)]. Furthermore, the photoreaction of diastereomer Λ-l is temperature-dependent. Mechanistic experiments reveal the ligand-radical intermediates may be involved in the reaction. Density functional theory calculations were used to eluciate the origin of diastereoselectivity and temperature dependence. This will provide a new protocol for the amination of quinoline at the C8 position via the postcoordinated interligand C-N cross-coupling strategy under mild conditions.