Quinazolinone-based boron difluoride complexes as photocatalysts for aerobic α- C(sp3)-H oxidation using air as oxidant

Quinazolinone-based boron difluoride (BF 2 ) complexes were developed for the synthesis of dihydroisoquinolones, 2-phenylisoindolinone, 1-isochromanone and diarylketone through α-C(sp 3 )-H photooxidation. Seven selected quinazolinone-based BF 2 complexes exhibited good activity for photooxidation reaction using air as oxidant. It is worth noting that quinazolinone-based BF 2 as photocatalysts do not require the introduction of halogen heavy atoms to improve catalytic activity. Mechanism exploration indicated these BF 2 catalysts may involve a single electron transfer (SET) mediated photoredox catalysis to achieve α-C(sp3)-H oxidation. These quinazolinone-based BF 2 catalysts with facile preparation and structural modifiability would be good choice for organic oxidative transformation in the future.