An Expeditious and Environmentally-Benign Approach to 2-Aryl/Heteroaryl Selenopyridines via Ruthenium Catalyzed [2+2+2] Cycloadditions

A highly efficient protocol for the synthesis of 2-aryl/ hetero aryl selenopyridines has been developed via a ruthenium(II)-catalyzed cycloaddition reaction of 1,6-diynes with aryl/heteroaryl selenocyanates with good to excellent yields. It was found that various diynes and selenocyanates expediently underwent the reaction under open-flask conditions. This atom-economical catalytic strategy offers a mild and practical approach to access a variety of such cycloadducts with excellent regioselectivities.