Regioselective Synthesis of Phenanthridines via Pd(II)-Catalyzed Annulative C(<i>sp</i>²)–H Activation

A robust synthesis of phenanthridines has been described via Pd(II)-catalyzed domino C(sp2)–H activation/N-arylation using oxime esters with aryl acyl peroxides in a highly regioselective manner. This protocol is compatible with acetophenone as well as benzophenone-derived oxime esters and allows modular construction of functionalized phenanthridines with wide tolerance of electronic functionality. Further transformations were conducted to synthesize key building blocks, and control experiments were performed to understand the plausible reaction mechanism