An expedient approach to substituted triazolo[1,5-a][1,4]benzodiazepines via Cu-catalyzed tandem Ullmann C-N coupling/azide-alkyne cycloaddition

An approach to the synthesis of triazolo[1,5-a][1,4]benzodiazepines comprising copper catalyzed tandem Ullmann C-N coupling followed by azide-alkyne cycloaddition has been described. The reaction of o-azidobenzylbromide and N-propargylated aniline derivatives in the presence of CuI and base leads to the formation of triazolo[1,5-a][1,4]benzodiazepines. The reaction has been successfully generalized by synthesizing a number of triazolo[1,5-a][1,4]benzodiazepine derivatives in good to excellent yields. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.