Synthetic preparation of carbazoles can be challenging, requiring ring-building strategies
and/or precious metal catalysts. Presented herein is a method for the preparation
of carbazoles with the use of inexpensive and reliable hypervalent iodine chemistry.
An oxidative single-electron-transfer (SET) event initiates cyclization for the preparation
of our trifluoromethyl carbazoles. This method has been shown to be useful for a variety
of bis(trifluoromethyl)carbazole isomers that are of primary interest for use as battery
materials.
Key words
intramolecular coupling - metal-free - electron-deficient carbazoles - hypervalent
iodine