BINOL accelerated Ru(II)-catalyzed regioselective C-H functionalization of arenes with disulfides and diselenides

Abstract

A BINOL accelerated Ru-catalyzed ortho-selective C-H coupling of arenes tethered to 7-azaindoles is described with disulfides and diselenides under air. The thioether can be readily oxidized to sulfoxide and sulfone. The use of less expensive Ru-catalysis, substrate scope and scale-up are the important practical features.

Cu(II)-Catalyzed C–N, C–O, C–Cl, C–S, and C–Se Bond Formation via C(sp2)–H Activation Using 7-Azaindole as an Intrinsic Directing Group

“…In addition, only noble transition-metal catalysts (Ir, Ru, and Rh) were employed, which are highly expensive and air-sensitive. There are only a few examples that demonstrated the formation of the C–heteroatom bond, albeit again employing Ir, Rh, Ru, and Pd catalysts . To the best of our knowledge, the environmentally benign and earth-abundant first-row transition metals as desirable alternatives are not employed to perform any conversion …”