Visible-Light Photoredox-Catalyzed Cascade Reaction for the Synthesis of Pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline-Substituted Phosphonates

A visible-light photoredox-catalyzed oxidation/[3+2] cycloaddition/oxidative aromatization cascade reaction of [(3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-2(1 H )-yl)methyl]phosphonates and activated olefins or alkynes for the efficient synthesis of potentially biological active pyrrolo[2,1- a ]isoquinoline-substituted phosphonates was developed. This transformation features mild reaction conditions (i.e., visible light irradiation, room temperature), molecular oxygen (O 2 ) as a green oxidant, simple ‘one-pot’ operation.