Oxazoline-/Copper-Catalyzed Alkoxyl Radical Generation: Solvent-Switched to Access 3a,3a′-Bisfuroindoline and 3-Alkoxyl Furoindoline

Abstract

We report the first example of oxazoline-/copper-catalyzed alcohol oxidation to generate the alkoxyl radical under additive-free conditions. The resulting alkoxyl radical addition to alkene enables useful C-O bond-forming and selective C(sp³)-C(sp³) radical-radical dimerization/radical-trapping reactions, providing direct access to the 3a,3a'-bisfuro[2,3-<i>b</i>]indoline scaffold for the first time and a wide range of 3-alkoxyl furoindolines with high efficiency.