Photo‐Induced Generation of Oxygenated Quaternary Centers via EnT Enabled Singlet O2 Addition to C3‐Maleimidated Quinoxaline: A Reagent‐Less Approach.

Demonstrated here is an external photo‐sensitizer‐free (auto‐sensitized) singlet oxygen‐enabled solvent‐dependent tertiary hydroxylation and aryl‐alkyl spiro‐etherification of C3‐maleimidated quinoxalines. Such "reagent‐less" photo‐oxygenation at Csp3‐H and etherification involving Csp3‐H/Csp2‐H are unparalleled. Possibly, the highly π‐conjugated N‐H tautomer allows the substrate to get excited by irradiation, and subsequently, it attains the triplet state via ISC. This excited triplet‐state sensitized molecule then transfers its energy to a triplet‐state oxygen (3O2) generating reactive singlet oxygen (1O2) for hydroxylation and spirocyclization depending on the solvent used. In HFIP, the generated alkoxy radical accepts a proton via HAT giving hydroxylated product. In contrast, in an aprotic PhCl it underwent a radical addition at the ortho‐position of the C2 aryl to provide spiro‐ether. An unprecedented orthogonal spiro‐etherification was observed via the displacement of o‐substitutents for ortho (−OEt, −OMe, −F, −Cl, −Br) substituted substrates. The order of ipso substitution follows the trend −OMe>−OEt>−F>−H>−Cl>−Br. Both these oxygenation reactions can be carried out with nearly equal ease using direct sunlight without the requirement of any elaborate reaction setup. Demonstration of large‐scale synthesis and a few interesting transformations have also been realized. Furthermore, several insightful control experiments and quantum chemical computations were performed to unravel the mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]