Regiospecific Synthesis of 1-Trifluoromethylisoquinolines Enabled by Photoredox Somophilic Vinyl Isocyanide Insertion

A strategy has been developed for the regiospecific synthesis of 1-trifluoromethylisoquinoline derivatives. This strategy is enabled by a photoredox vinyl isocyanide insertion with the help of Umemoto's reagent. The methodology presented here provides an access to highly fuctionalized 1-trifluoromethylisoquinolines regiospecifically under mild conditions in good-to-excellent chemical yields. A detailed mechanism is proposed, which is supported by experiments and theoretical calculations.