Visible-Light-Induced Multifunctionalization Reaction of <i>o</i>-Alkenyl Aromatic Isocyanides, Sulfur Ylide, and Fluorinated Alcohols: Direct Synthesis of 3-Fluoroalkyl-Substituted Indoles

A visible-light-induced multicomponent tandem cyclization of <i>o</i>-alkenyl aromatic isocyanides with fluorinated alcohols and sulfur ylides as carbon radical precursors was developed for the first time. This reaction provides an efficient method for the construction of 3-fluoroalkyl-substituted indoles from readily available acyclic starting materials with the formation of two C-O bonds and two C-C bonds in a single step. Further applications, including synthesis of 2-(1<i>H</i>-indol-2-yl)-1,4-diphenylbutane-1,4-diol,2-(thiophen-3-yl/1<i>H</i>-pyrrol-3-yl)-1<i>H</i>-indoles and 9<i>H</i>-carbazole, demonstrated the tremendous potential of the multicomponent reaction.