Iron-Catalyzed Sulfonylmethylation of Imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines with <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>-Dimethylacetamide and Sodium Sulfinates

Abstract

Functionalized imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines are important scaffolds in pharmaceuticals. Herein, we present an efficient 3-sulfonylmethylation protocol for imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines by sodium sulfinates in DMA and H2O (2:1) via an FeCl3-catalyzed three-component coupling reaction. Various sulfonylmethyl imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines were thus afforded in high yields with excellent functional group tolerance. A plausible oxidation-addition mechanism was proposed.

Keywords

• sulfonylmethylation
• imidazo[1,2-α]pyridine
• DMA
• FeCl₃-catalyzed