Brønsted Acid Cocatalysis in Copper(I)-Photocatalyzed α-Amino C-H Bond Functionalization

Thomas P. Nicholls, Grace E. Constable, Johnathon C. Robertson, Michael G. Gardiner, Alex C. Bissember

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

101 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We have exploited a bis(1,10-phenanthroline)copper(I) visible light photocatalyst (VLP), [Cu(dap)2]+, to effect the direct α-C-H functionalization of amines. To our knowledge, this represents the first example of the oxidation of amines that are ultimately incorporated into synthetic targets by a copper(I) VLP. We have utilized this approach to rapidly prepare unprecedented octahydroisoquinolino[2,1-a]pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinoline frameworks and exploited this process to synthesize a novel aglycone analogue of the natural product incargranine B. Most significantly, our studies suggest that the presence of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is crucial in mediating the aerobic oxidative quenching of a putative photoexcited copper(I) species involved in the catalytic cycle.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)451-457
Number of pages7
JournalACS Catalysis
Volume6
Issue number1
Early online date18 Dec 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Jan 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • aerobic oxidation
  • photocatalysis
  • trifluoroacetic acid
  • visible light
  • [Cu(dap)]Cl

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