Photoinduced Perfluoroalkylation/Cyclization of Alkenes to Access Perfluoroalkylated Oxygen-/Nitrogen-Containing Heterocycles via EDA Complexes

Because a few pairs of substrates can directly form productive electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complexes for subsequent efficient transformations between them, photoinduced reactions via EDA complexes without the addition of electron-donor or electron-acceptor activators remain limited. Herein, we report a visible-light-mediated perfluoroalkylation/cyclization of nucleophile-containing alkenes with perfluoroalkyl iodides via EDA complexes. This reaction proceeds smoothly without any external electron-donor-activating reagent and is compatible with nucleophile-bearing internal and terminal alkenes, delivering over 40 perfluoroalkylated oxygen- and nitrogen-containing heterocycles in moderate to high yields. By obviating the use of external electron donors while offering broad substrate scope and high efficiency, this protocol significantly expands the photochemistry of EDA complexes.