The photoinduced decarboxylative radical cascade alkylation/cyclization strategy of diverse benzimidazole containing unactivated alkene moieties towards synthesis of polycyclic benzimidazoles via ligand-to-metal-charge-transfer (LMCT) has been developed. Specifically, the reaction initiates the decarboxylation of alkyl carboxylic acids through light-induced charge transfer from the ligand to iron, resulting in the formation of alkyl radical centers. Moreover, the protocol has prominent features such as the broad range of substrate scope, high regioselectivity, mild reaction conditions, operational simplicity and readily available air acted as the sole oxidant.

You have access to this article

Please wait while we load your content... Something went wrong. Try again?