Facile access to benzofuran derivatives through radical reactions with heteroatom-centered super-electron-donors.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37968279.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-43198-y and PMC identifier 10651860.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The development of suitable electron donors is critical to single-electron-transfer (SET) processes. The use of heteroatom-centered anions as super-electron-donors (SEDs) for direct SET reactions has rarely been studied. Here we show that heteroatom anions can be applied as SEDs to initiate radical reactions for facile synthesis of 3-substituted benzofurans. Phosphines, thiols and anilines bearing different substitution patterns work well in this inter-molecular radical coupling reaction and the 3-functionalized benzofuran products bearing heteroatomic functionalities are given in moderate to excellent yields. The reaction mechanism is elucidated via control experiments and computational methods. The afforded products show promising applications in both organic synthesis and pesticide development.