Cooperative Lewis Acid/Cp∗Co^III Catalyzed C-H Bond Activation for the Synthesis of Isoquinolin-3-ones

A facile route toward the synthesis of isoquinolin-3-ones through a cooperative B(C₆F₅)₃- and Cp∗Co^III-catalyzed C-H bond activation of imines with diazo compounds is presented. The inclusion of a catalytic amount of B(C₆F₅)₃ results in a highly efficient reaction, thus enabling unstable NH imines to serve as substrates. Co^III-operative catalysis: The first facile route toward the synthesis of isoquinolin-3-ones through cooperative C-H bond activation with B(C₆F₅)₃ (BCF in picture) and Cp∗Co^III (Cp∗=C₅Me₅) is presented. The newly developed catalytic system is highly reactive, thus unstable NH imines can serve as substrates.