Transition metal-catalyzed sp3 C–H activation and intramolecular C–N coupling to construct nitrogen heterocyclic scaffolds

Abstract

Nitrogen heterocycles are of great medicinal importance, and the construction of nitrogen heterocyclic scaffolds has been one of the focuses in synthetic organic chemistry. Recently, the strategy of transition metal-catalyzed sp³ C–H activation and intramolecular C–N coupling to construct nitrogen heterocyclic scaffolds has been well developed. Palladium, copper, silver, nickel, cobalt, ruthenium and rhodium catalysis were successfully used for the construction of nitrogen heterocyclic scaffolds, aziridines, azetidines, pyrrolidines, pyrrolidine-2,5-diones, indolines, isoindolines, isoindolinones, tetrahydropyridines, oxazolidinones, oxazinanones, β-lactams, γ-lactams etc., which have been synthesized by the sp³ C–H activation strategy. Here, we summarize the progress of transition metal-catalyzed sp³ C–H activation/intramolecular C–N bond formation, and introduce both the reaction development and mechanisms in numerous synthetically useful intramolecular sp³ C–H catalytic aminations/amidations.