Rhodium-catalyzed regioselective alkynylations of 8-pyrrole-appended BODIPYs

Abstract

The high tunabilities of the optical properties of BODIPYs have been demonstrated by various peripheral modifications over the years. However, chemical modifications at the 1- and 7-positions of 8-substituted BODIPYs have been scarcely explored, since these sites are electronically and sterically least reactive. Herein, we report an effective rhodium (Rh)-catalyzed C–H activated alkynylation at the 1- and 7-positions of 8-pyrrole-appended BODIPYs, where the appended pyrrole moiety serves as a directing group to promote the alkynylation. In addition, some double annulation products of these alkynylated compounds were obtained by photo-cyclization with green light.