Rhodium-Catalyzed Direct Bis-cyanation of Arylimidazo[1,2-α]pyridine via Double C–H Activation

An efficient Cp*Rh­(III)-catalyzed selective bis-cyanation of aryl­imidazo­[1,2-α]­pyridines with <i>N</i>-cyano-<i>N</i>-phenyl-<i>p</i>-methyl­benzene­sulfonamide <i>via N</i>-directed <i>ortho</i> double C–H activation has been developed. The reaction proceeds with broad functional group tolerance to furnish various cyanated imidazo­pyridines in high yields. The current methodology exhibits unique characteristics, including high bis-cyanation selectivity, operational convenience, and gram-scale production