TfOH-Promoted Transition-Metal-Free Cascade Trifluoroethylation/Cyclization of Organic Isothiocyanates by Phenyl(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)iodonium Triflate

An efficient and transition-metal-free method for the synthesis of the structurally diversified trifluoroethylthiol phenanthridines and 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines is described. Various 2-isothiocyanobiaryls and aryl alkyl isothiocyanates reacted with phenyl­(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)­iodonium triflate in CH2Cl2 in the presence of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid at 40 °C to form the corresponding trifluoroethylation/cyclization products in good to quantitative yields. This work represents the first construction of trifluoroethylthiol phenanthridine and isoquinoline derivatives from isothiocyanates in the absence of transition-metal catalysts by a one-pot procedure.