Ni-Catalyzed C-H Cyanation of (Hetero)arenes with 2-Cyanoisothiazolidine 1,1-Dioxide as a Cyanation Reagent.

A nickel-catalyzed C-H cyanation reaction of arenes has been developed using 2-cyanoisothiazolidine 1,1-dioxide as an electrophilic cyanation reagent. Many different directing groups can be used in this cyanation to obtain a series of cyanation products with good yields. Adopting this strategy to introduce a cyano group, natural alkaloid menisporphine was successfully synthesized through cyano group conversion that further proved the practicality of this cyanation method.

Visible Light-Induced Decarboxylative Alkylation of Heterocyclic Aromatics with Carboxylic Acids via Anthocyanin as a Photocatalyst.

A visible light-induced decarboxylative alkylation of heterocyclic aromatics with aliphatic carboxylic acids was developed by using anthocyanins as a photocatalyst under mild conditions. A series of alkylated heterocyclic compounds were obtained in moderate to good yields by using the metal-free decarboxylative coupling reaction under blue light. This strategy uses cheap and readily available carboxylic acids as alkylation reagents with good functional group tolerance and environmental friendliness.