Rhenium-Catalyzed Synthesis of 1,3-Diiminoisoindolines via Insertion of Carbodiimides into a C-H Bond of Aromatic and Heteroaromatic Imidates

The rhenium-catalyzed synthesis of 1,3-diiminoisoindolines and their related compounds from aromatic or heteroaromatic imidates and carbodiimides are reported via C-H bond activation. This reaction is the first example of a transition-metal-catalyzed insertion of carbodiimides into an aromatic or heteroaromatic C-H bond and a novel method for synthesizing 1,3-diiminoisoindolines and their related compounds. Unsymmetrical 1,3-diiminoisoindolines were easily obtained using this method. The reaction proceeded in good to excellent yield using a variety of substrates.