Dearomative Alkylation of Heteroarenium Salts via Blue Light Enabled Homolytic C–C Bond Cleavage

Alkyl substituted nitrogen heterocycles are important building blocks in drug molecules, agrochemicals, and materials. Herein we report a simple and efficient way to prepare such compounds by coupling alkyl halides with heteroarenium salts. Detailed experimental and computational studies indicate that this reaction goes through a radical coupling and avoids the formation of undesired homocoupling of heteroarenium salts via recycling such dimers through C-C bond cleavage under blue light.