Regioselective C-C bond cleavage/aminocarbonylation cascade under copper catalysis

A regioselective C-C bond cleavage/aminocarbonylation cascade is presented. In recent years, tremendous progress has been made in the alkoxyl radical-mediated C-C bond cleavage of unstrained monocarbocycles. In contrast, the deconstruction and functionalization of bicyclic skeletons has been less developed and has mainly focused on the ring expansion process. Inspired by the aromatization-driven C-C bond cleavage, here we demonstrate a ring-opening/aminocarbonylation cascade under copper catalysis, in which the formation of a stable gamma-lactam or succinimide skeleton reverses the selectivity of C-C cleavage. Remarkably, the photo and thermal assistance is not required when the succinimide skeleton is formed during the ring opening process. DFT calculations revealed that this unexpected ring-opening process is thermodynamically and kinetically favourable.