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tries 1–9). The presence of both electron-donating and elec-
tron-accepting groups on the phenyl ring had little influence
on the product yields under the present reaction conditions.
The use of nitroethane and nitropropane as a nucleophile in
the oxidative aza-Henry reaction gave the desired products
3j–o but with decreasing yields (Table 2, entries 10–15), which
may be because of the steric effect of the nucleophiles. With
acyclic 4-N,N-trimethylaniline employed as a substrate, a satis-
factory yield of 72% for the desired product 3p was obtained
(Table 2, entry 16).
Results and Discussion
All of the complexes shown in Figure 1 were synthesized ac-
cording to the previously reported procedure[13,14] and
screened for their use in visible-light-induced CDC reactions.
The results of the CDC reactions of 1a with nitromethane
using Pt1–Pt4 as the visible light photoredox catalyst are sum-
marized in Table 1. Gratifyingly, the desired product 3a was ob-
Table 1. Optimization of CDC reaction of amine with nitromethane.
ESR experiments were performed to gain insight into the Pt-
1
catalyzed CDC reaction mechanism. Whereas O2 was found to
play a key role in the photo-oxidation reactions photosensi-
CÀ
tized by platinum(II) complexes,[10a] O2 was proposed recently
as the active species in the CDC reaction photocatalyzed by
a platinum(II) terpyridyl complex.[12] Thus, for determination of
the actual active species of oxygen in the present system, 5,5-
Entry
Conditions[a]
Conv. [%][b]
Yield [%][c]
1
2
3
4
5
6
7[e]
8
Pt1 (1.5 mol%)
Pt2 (1.5 mol%)
Pt3 (1.5 mol%)
Pt4 (1.5 mol%)
No catalyst
No light, Pt3 (1.5 mol%)
Pt3 (1.5 mol%)
Pt3 (1.5 mol%) in air
[Ru(bpy)3]Cl2
37
46
100
36
9
0
7
76
100
100
29
32
94 (89)[d]
29
8
0
trace
63
98
96
dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) and 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-
1
CÀ
piperidine (TEMP) were used as O2 and O2 scavengers, re-
spectively, in the ESR measurements. Initial effort was engaged
1
in the detection of O2. As shown in Figure 2a, irradiation of an
air-saturated DMF solution of TEMP and Pt3 by a 100 W mer-
cury lamp (l>420 nm) generated the characteristic signal of
1O2.[15] However, the nitroxide radical TEMPO was hardly detect-
ed upon addition of 1a in the same air-saturated DMF solution
9
10
[Ir(ppy)3]
[a] Reaction conditions: 1a (0.2 mmol), CH3NO2 (10 mL). The reaction was
saturated with O2 before irradiation unless indicated otherwise; reaction
time of 8 h. [b] Conversions were determined by H NMR spectroscopy of
CÀ
(Figure 2b). Instead, the characteristic signal of O2 attributed
1
CÀ
to the DMPOÀO2 adduct was observed upon irradiation of
the crude product using 4,4’-dimethyl-2,2’-bipyridine as an internal stan-
dard based on 1a. [c] Yields based on the amount of 1a as determined
a solution of DMPO, Pt3, and 1a by a 100 W mercury lamp
(l>420 nm) (Figure 2c); the spectrum and the hyperfine cou-
pling constants (aN =12.8 G, abH =9.8 G) were in agreement
1
by H NMR spectroscopy. [d] Yield of isolated product based on recovered
1a. [e] The reaction was deoxygenated.
tained, and Pt3 showed the best catalytic activity among all
the catalysts, with a yield of 94% after 8 h irradiation under an
oxygen atmosphere (Table 1, entries 1–4). Interestingly, the de-
sired product 3a was obtained in 8% yield in the absence of
any catalyst (Table 1, entry 5). The control experiments showed
that the reaction did not take place in the dark, and gave
a trace amount of product 3a in the absence of molecular
oxygen (Table 1, entries 6, 7). Upon replacement of oxygen by
air, the system also worked, but a slightly lower yield was ob-
tained (Table 1, entry 8). For comparison, the well-known ruthe-
nium and iridium polypyridyl complexes were also screened
for CDC reactions under the same conditions, and the desired
aza-Henry product 3a was obtained in 96–98% yields (Table 1,
entries 9 and 10). All the above results suggest that light irradi-
ation and molecular oxygen are essential for the reaction, and
in particular, the platinum complex Pt3 as a photocatalyst facil-
itates the CÀC bond formation. Consequently, the optimal re-
action conditions include irradiation on nitromethane contain-
ing 1.5 mol% Pt3 and 1a under an oxygen atmosphere for
8 h.
Figure 2. a) ESR spectrum of a solution in air-saturated DMF of Pt3
(1.010À4 molLÀ1) and TEMP (2.010À2 molLÀ1) upon irradiation for 120 s.
b) ESR spectrum of a solution in air-saturated DMF of Pt3 (1.010À4 molLÀ1),
1a (1.510À3 molLÀ1), and TEMP (2.010À2 molLÀ1) upon irradiation for
120 s. c) ESR spectrum of a solution in air-saturated DMF of Pt3
With the optimal conditions in hand, we examined the
scope of this visible-light-induced CDC reaction. In general,
a variety of N-aryltetrahydroisoquinolines 1a–i were subjected
to the oxidative aza-Henry reaction, providing the desired cou-
pling products 3a–i in good to excellent yields (Table 2, en-
(1.010À4 molLÀ1), 1a (1.510À3 molLÀ1), and DMPO (2.010À2 molLÀ1
upon irradiation for 120 s. DMF=N,N-dimethylformamide.
)
ChemPlusChem 2015, 80, 1541 – 1546
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