Copper/N, N, N′, N′-Tetramethylethylenediamine-Catalyzed Synthesis of N-Substituted Benzoheterocycles via C-S Cross-Coupling at Ambient Temperature in Water

Copper/N, N, N', N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (Cu/TMEDA)-catalyzed ambient temperature tandem reactions of isothiocyanates with 2-iodophenols or 2-iodoanilines in water without the protection of an inert atmosphere are described, which provide a simple, rapid, environmental method for the synthesis of a variety of 2-iminobenzo-1, 3-oxathioles and 2-aminobenzothiazoles in good yields. More important, the present reaction process needs only low amounts of copper catalyst (< 1 mol%) and can yield the products on a gram scale.