The oxidative coupling of N-aryl tetrahydroisoquinolines with nucleophiles has inspired the development of novel C-H functionalization reactions as well as mechanistic studies. Here, we investigate the oxidation step that forms iminium ions as key intermediates in the method using CuCl2 as catalyst and oxygen as terminal oxidant. A strong electronic effect of substituents in the N-aryl ring was found by synthetic studies and a Hammett plot analysis, supporting initial electron transfer from the amine to Cu(II). The importance of the mechanism of oxidation on the substrate scope with differently substituted tetrahydroisoquinolines is discussed.

4-Sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazole scaffolds possess promising bioactivities and applications as anion binders. However, these structures remain relatively unexplored and efficient synthetic procedures for their synthesis remain desirable. A practical room-temperature, aerobic copper-catalyzed three-component reaction of aromatic ketones, sodium sulfinates, and azides is reported. This procedure allows for facile access to 4-sulfonyl-1,5-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles in yields ranging from 34 to 89%. The reaction proceeds via a sequential aerobic copper(II)chloride-catalyzed oxidative sulfonylation and the Dimroth azide–enolate cycloaddition.

The Nenitzescu reaction is a condensation reaction between an enamine and a quinone, which can give rise to a wide variety of reaction products depending on the nature of the starting material and the reaction conditions. The most commonly observed products are 5-hydroxyindoles and 5-hydroxybenzofurans. Both classes are of interest since they are known to possess a variety of promising bioactivities. Despite the high chemodivergency for this reaction, it remains an interesting synthetic strategy thanks to the mild reaction conditions, easily accessible starting materials and simple reaction procedures. For these reasons, our research group investigated the Nenitzescu reaction of piperazinone enaminoesters, resulting in the unexpected formation of rearranged 2-imidazolidinone benzofurans. In this work, we aimed to develop reaction conditions that favor the formation of 5-hydroxyindoles via an extensive, multivariate optimization study. This led to valuable insights into the parameters that influence regio- and chemoselectivity. Furthermore, two novel products were obtained, a pyrrolo[2,3-f]indole and a benzofuranone, both of which are rarely reported in the literature.