Selective α-oxidation of amides via visible-light-driven iron catalysis

Hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) as one of the highly reactive species can react unselectively with a wide range of chemicals. The ˙OH radicals are typically generated under harsh conditions. Herein, we report hydroxyl radical-induced selective -α C(sp )-H bond oxidation of amides under greener and mild conditions an Fe(NO ) ·9H O catalyst inner sphere pathway upon irradiation with a 30 W blue LED light strip ( = 455 nm) using NaBrO as the oxidant. This protocol exhibited high chemoselectivity and excellent functional group tolerance. A preliminary mechanism investigation demonstrated that the iron catalyst afforded hydroxyl radicals the visible-light-induced homolysis (VLIH) of iron complexes followed by a hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) process to realize this transformation.