Visible-Light-Induced Metal-Free Synthesis of 2-Phosphorylated Thioflavones in Water.

The introduction of phosphorus functional groups into the skeleton of thioflavones is an attractive task and of great significance. Herein, a metal-free visible-light-induced radical cascade cyclization was developed for the preparation of 2-phosphorylated thioflavones from methylthiolated alkynones and phosphine oxides. In water as a green reaction medium, a large number of such 2-phosphorylated thioflavones were prepared, catalyzed by 4CzIPN [1,2,3,5-tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicyanobenzene] under visible-light irradiation. These reactions could be performed at ambient temperature and feature simple operation, wide reaction scope, and recyclability of aqueous media.

Metal-free sulfonyl radical-initiated cascade cyclization to access sulfonated indolo[1,2-a]quinolines.

A metal-free cascade reaction was developed for the synthesis of indolo[1,2-a]quinoline derivatives from arylsulfonyl hydrazides and 1-(2-(arylethynyl)phenyl)indoles in the presence of TBAI/TBHP. Impressively, these products exhibit excellent fluorescence properties, which is promising for cell imaging.