FeCl3-catalyzed oxidative amidation of benzylic C–H bonds enabled by a photogenerated chlorine-radical

Abstract

Herein, we report the development of iron-catalyzed benzylic C–H oxidative amidation reactions via photoinduced ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT). These reactions exhibit a broad substrate scope (60 examples) and offer operationally simple, scalable procedures for accessing valuable products from methylarenes in a single step. Mechanistic studies and control experiments confirm the participation of a photogenerated chlorine radical in facilitating the hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) from the benzylic C–H bond to initiate the reaction.