Merging Photoinduced Iron-Catalyzed Decarboxylation with Copper Catalysis for C–N and C–C Couplings

Abstract

We report a photoinduced iron/copper dual-catalytic strategy for the radical decarboxylation functionalization of aliphatic carboxylic acids. The photoinduced ligand-to-iron charge transfer process under light was initially occurred to generate an unstabilized alkyl radical, and the copper catalyst delivered the radical and enabled the subsequent coupling reactions to form C–N or C–C bonds. By merging iron-catalyzed decarboxylation with copper catalysis, this system allows the smooth conversion of a wide range of aliphatic carboxylic acids for the amination, decarboxylative dehydrogenation, and alkylation efficiently. A wide variety of complex drug or natural molecules is applicable, suggesting that this strategy would facilitate rapid compound library synthesis and benefit to the discovery of pharmaceutical agents.