Fuse H, Nakao H, Saga Y, Fukatsu A, Kondo M, Masaoka S, Mitsunuma H, Kanai M. Photocatalytic redox-neutral hydroxyalkylation of
N-heteroaromatics with aldehydes.
Chem Sci 2020;
11:12206-12211. [PMID:
34094432 PMCID:
PMC8163015 DOI:
10.1039/d0sc04114a]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Hydroxyalkylation of N-heteroaromatics with aldehydes was achieved using a binary hybrid catalyst system comprising an acridinium photoredox catalyst and a thiophosphoric acid organocatalyst. The reaction proceeded through the following sequence: (1) photoredox-catalyzed single-electron oxidation of a thiophosphoric acid catalyst to generate a thiyl radical, (2) cleavage of the formyl C-H bond of the aldehyde substrates by a thiyl radical acting as a hydrogen atom transfer catalyst to generate acyl radicals, (3) Minisci-type addition of the resulting acyl radicals to N-heteroaromatics, and (4) a spin-center shift, photoredox-catalyzed single-electron reduction, and protonation to produce secondary alcohol products. This metal-free hybrid catalysis proceeded under mild conditions for a wide range of substrates, including isoquinolines, quinolines, and pyridines as N-heteroaromatics, as well as both aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes, and tolerated various functional groups. The reaction was applicable to late-stage derivatization of drugs and their leads.
Collapse