Photosensitizer-free synthesis of arylsulfonated 4,5-fused polycyclic coumarin derivatives via photoinduced cascade sulfonylation/cyclization of 4-(N-alkyl-N-acrylamido)coumarins
Sanyu Zhang,
a,† Dongliang Xing,
b,† Lili Wang,
a Jinwei Yuan,
a,* Zhenhua Dong,
a Yongmei Xiao,
a Liangru Yang
a
The Journal of Organic Chemistry,
2026, DOI: 1021/acs.joc.6c01866.

A practical visible-light-induced cascade sulfonylation/cyclization of 4-(
N-alkyl-
N-acrylamido)coumarins bearing unactivated alkenes with arylsulfonyl chlorides has been developed for the synthesis of arylsulfonylated 4,5-fused polycyclic coumarin derivatives. The reaction proceeds at room temperature under external-photosensitizer-, base- and oxidant-free conditions. This protocol features mild conditions, broad substrate scope, good functional group tolerance, and moderate to excellent yields. Synthetic utility was further demonstrated by a gram-scale reaction and by successful irradiation with natural sunlight. Additionally, preliminary mechanistic studies support a radical cascade pathway initiated by energy transfer (EnT) from the photoexcited 4-(
N-alkyl-
N-acrylamido)coumarin framework to arylsulfonyl chlorides, followed by S-Cl bond hemolysis and intramolecular cyclization.