Although N‐alkenoxyheteroarenium salts have been widely used as umpoled synthons with nucleophilic (hetero)arenes, the use of electron‐poor heteroarenes has remained unexplored. To overcome the inherent electron deficiency of quinolinium salts, a traceless nucleophile‐triggered strategy was designed, wherein the quinolinium segment is converted into a dearomatized intermediate, thereby allowing simultaneous C8‐functionalization of quinolines at room temperature. Experimental and computational studies support the traceless operation of a nucleophile, which enables the previously inaccessible transformation of N‐alkenoxyheteroarenium salts. Remarkably, the generality of this strategy has been further demonstrated by broad applications in the regioselective C−H functionalization of other electron‐deficient heteroarenes such as phenanthridine, isoquinoline, and pyridine N‐oxides, offering a practical tool for the late‐stage functionalization of complex biorelevant molecules.
Herein, we report an efficient strategy for the remote C−H pyridylation of hydroxamates with excellent ortho‐selectivity by designing a new class of photon‐absorbing O‐aryl oxime pyridinium salts generated in situ from the corresponding pyridines and hydroxamates. When irradiated by visible light, the photoexcitation of oxime pyridinium intermediates generates iminyl radicals via the photolytic N−O bond cleavage, which does not require an external photocatalyst. The efficiency of light absorption and N−O bond cleavage of the oxime pyridinium salts can be modulated through the electronic effect of substitution on the O‐aryl ring. The resultant iminyl radicals enable the installation of pyridyl rings at the γ‐CN position, which yields synthetically valuable C2‐substituted pyridyl derivatives. This novel synthetic approach provides significant advantages in terms of both efficiency and simplicity and exhibits broad functional group tolerance in complex settings under mild and metal‐free conditions.
Although N‐alkenoxyheteroarenium salts have been widely used as umpoled synthons with nucleophilic (hetero)arenes, the use of electron‐poor heteroarenes has remained unexplored. To overcome the inherent electron deficiency of quinolinium salts, a traceless nucleophile‐triggered strategy was designed, wherein the quinolinium segment is converted into a dearomatized intermediate, thereby allowing simultaneous C8‐functionalization of quinolines at room temperature. Experimental and computational studies support the traceless operation of a nucleophile, which enables the previously inaccessible transformation of N‐alkenoxyheteroarenium salts. Remarkably, the generality of this strategy has been further demonstrated by broad applications in the regioselective C−H functionalization of other electron‐deficient heteroarenes such as phenanthridine, isoquinoline, and pyridine N‐oxides, offering a practical tool for the late‐stage functionalization of complex biorelevant molecules.
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