Visible-light-mediated synthesis of polysubstituted pyrroles via CAr–I reduction triggered 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer process

Abstract

A novel strategy for the construction of polysubstituted pyrroles has been developed through the visible-light-induced single-electron reduction of C_Ar–I bonds and the following 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) process. This protocol facilitates smooth reactions between cyclic 2-iodobenzoyl amides and internal alkynes bearing electron-withdrawing groups (EWGs), affording a wide range of pyrrole skeletons with diverse substitution patterns. Preliminary mechanistic explorations indicate that the 1,5-HAT process triggered by C_Ar–I activation is crucial to the successful transformation. Scale-up reactions and late-stage modification of natural products further highlight the synthetic potential of this method.