Iridium(III)- benzoxazolyl and benzothiazolyl phosphine ligands catalyzed versatile alkylation reactions with alcohols and the synthesis of quinolines and indole

Abstract A series of benzoxazolyl and benzothiazolyl phosphine ligands 4a-4g were synthesized and characterized, which prepared from commercially available 2-aminophenol/2-aminobenzenethiol and 2-bromobenzaldehyde via cyclization and phosphination. The representative ligands 4c and 4e were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The corresponding iridium complexes could be generated in situ when [Cp*IrCl2]2 (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) encountered ligands. The molecular structures of complexes 5c and 5e were crystallographically characterized. The dihedral angles of N (1)-C (1)-C (8)-C (9) showed an increasing twist compared with the corresponding ligand. The iridium (III) catalysts were screened, [Cp*IrCl2]2/4a proved to be the optimal catalyst, which exhibited efficient catalytic activity toward versatile alkylations including ketones, secondary alcohols and amines with primary alcohols. Additionally, the synthesis of quinolines from ketones with 2-aminobenzyl alcohol by intermolecular cyclization and indole from 2-(2-aminophenyl)ethanol by intramolecular cyclization were achieved under the optimized conditions.