# Iron-Catalyzed Sulfonylmethylation of Imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines with N,N-Dimethylacetamide and Sodium Sulfinates

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new iron-catalyzed method to efficiently synthesize sulfonylmethyl imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines with high yields and good tolerance for other functional groups.

## Contribution

A novel iron-catalyzed three-component coupling protocol for sulfonylmethylation of imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines is developed.

## Key findings

- Sulfonylmethyl imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines were synthesized in high yields using FeCl3 catalysis.
- The method shows excellent functional group tolerance and uses sodium sulfinates in DMA and H2O.
- An oxidation-addition mechanism is proposed to explain the reaction pathway.

## Abstract

Functionalized imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines are important scaffolds in pharmaceuticals. Herein, we present an efficient 3-sulfonylmethylation protocol for imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines by sodium sulfinates in DMA and H2O (2:1) via an FeCl3-catalyzed three-component coupling reaction. Various sulfonylmethyl imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines were thus afforded in high yields with excellent functional group tolerance. A plausible oxidation-addition mechanism was proposed.