A unified access to diverse heteroaromatic scaffolds using the radical chemistry of xanthatesThis article is dedicated with respect and admiration to Professor Makhluf J. Haddadin (American University of Beirut) on the occasion of his 75th birthday.This article is part of the Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry 10th Anniversary issue

The degenerate transfer of xanthates allows generally difficult radical transformations, such as intermolecular additions to unactivated alkenes and cyclisations onto aromatic and heteroaromatic rings, to be accomplished under very practical experimental conditions. This translates into numerous approaches for the construction or modification of heteroaromatic structures. The present report aims to provide a brief overview of the various synthetic possibilities, with particular emphasis on medicinally interesting families of compounds. The radical addition of xanthates to alkenes provides a practical and flexible entry to a broad variety of heteroaromatic structures.