Skeletal Editing Via CH→N Atom Swapping in Fused Imidazoles: Access to Triazolo[5,1- <i>a</i> ]isoquinoline, Triazolo[1,5- <i>a</i> ]quinoline, and Triazolo-[1,5- <i>a</i> ]pyridines Frameworks

Herein, we report a practical and efficient carbon-to-nitrogen atom swap in 2-phenylimidazo[2,1-<i>a</i>]isoquinoline and 2-phenylimidazo[1,2-<i>a</i>]quinoline scaffolds, enabling their direct conversion to the corresponding 2-phenyl-[1,2,4]triazolo[5,1-<i>a</i>]isoquinoline and 2-phenyl-[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-<i>a</i>]quinoline analogues. This transformation exploits the intrinsic reactivity of the parent heterocycles to undergo a cascade sequence involving oxidative cleavage, amination, and cyclization (OCAC) under mild conditions with functional group tolerance.