Constructing Metalated Heterocycles via Alkyne Cycloisomerization: Mechanism and Application

Heterocycles are a class of important compound not only because of their ubiquitous presence in nature, but also their widespread applications in medicinal chemistry and materials science. Although organic heterocycles have been the main focus in theexploration and development of heterocyclic compounds, research on metalated heterocycles (M-Het) is falling behind presumably because of the sparseness of general synthetic methods. To tackle this issue, we propose to develop a “metal-induced alkynecycloisomerization” strategy to prepare a variety of new M-Het. Our preliminary results not only demonstrate that a number of unprecedented M-Het can be prepared through this approach, but also reveal the existence of unconventional metal-alkyne reactionpathways. Moreover, the resultant M-Het exhibit interesting biological and material properties which deserve further exploration. Overall, this study will offer useful insight into the rational design of functional M-Het and catalytic cycloisomerization reactionsfor various applications.