Photocatalytic difluoroalkylation/cyclization of <i>N</i>-cinnamyl-<i>N</i>-cyanobenzamides with difluoroalkyl bromides toward C2-difluoroalkylated pyrroloquinazolinones

A photoinduced cascade difluoroalkylation/cyclization of <i>N</i>-cinnamyl-<i>N</i>-cyanobenzamides with difluoromethyl bromides was developed. In this transformation, the construction of C2-difluoroalkylated pyrroloquinazolinones was achieved through consecutive intramolecular dual cyclization. It features mild reaction conditions, a broad substrate scope and viable late-stage modification of natural products and pharmaceutical molecules.