A General Electron Donor‐Acceptor Photoactivation Using Oxime Esters Enabled Divergent Thioetherifications

Comprehensive Summary The EDA complex‐mediated reactions involving oxime esters have been few studied. Herein, an EDA complex formed by thiophenolate anion and oxime ester is reported for photoinduced divergent synthesis of thioethers, depending on different types of oxime esters. Operational simplicity, mild reaction conditions, and flexible options of leaving group demonstrate the generality and synthetic utility of this approach. Such an approach can also enable an interesting thiol‐catalysis for the synthesis of phenanthridines. A general photoinduced EDA complex formed by thiophenolate anion and oxime ester has been developed for divergent synthesis of thioethers, depending on different types of oxime esters.