Visible-light-promoted intramolecular C–H amination in aqueous solution: synthesis of carbazoles

An effective and operationally simple protocol is reported for the synthesis of versatile carbazoles. With water as a co-solvent, visible-light rather than various metals is used to facilitate the conversion of readily available 2-azidobiphenyls under mild conditions. Various functionalized bioactive natural alkaloids, such as glycoborine, clausine C, clausine L, clausine H and clauszoline K, were synthesized efficiently with nitrogen as a sole byproduct. The reaction could be performed in water, acidic or alkaline buffer solutions, showing its potential for applications in biochemistry.