Native functionality in triple catalytic cross-coupling: sp ³ C–H bonds as latent nucleophiles

Abstract

The use of sp ³ C–H bonds—which are ubiquitous in organic molecules—as latent nucleophile equivalents for transition metal–catalyzed cross-coupling reactions has the potential to substantially streamline synthetic efforts in organic chemistry while bypassing substrate activation steps. Through the combination of photoredox-mediated hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) and nickel catalysis, we have developed a highly selective and general C–H arylation protocol that activates a wide array of C–H bonds as native functional handles for cross-coupling. This mild approach takes advantage of a tunable HAT catalyst that exhibits predictable reactivity patterns based on enthalpic and bond polarity considerations to selectively functionalize a-amino and a-oxy sp ³ C–H bonds in both cyclic and acyclic systems.