Cascade Palladium Catalysis: A Predictable and Selectable Regiocontrolled Synthesis of N-Arylbenzimidazoles

摘要

Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic groups are pervasive structural elements in natural products, medicines, agricultural chemicals, and functional materials. As a result, the construction and functionalization of these is a central focus in organic synthesis. Our group, among others, has a longstanding interest in developing catalytic methods which enable the efficient and selective formation of carbon-nitrogen bonds, and we seek to apply these technologies to the preparation or modification of a broad array of heterocyclic scaffolds, including benzimidazoles. Regioselec-tive benzimidazole alkylation or arylation is challenging because of the relatively similar electronic properties exhibited by the non-equivalent nitrogen atoms contained within the imidazole moiety.