Visible Light Mediated Iron‐Catalyzed One‐Pot Synthesis of Chromenopyrroles from Benzyl Alcohols, 2‐Hydroxyacetophenones and Methyl/Ethyl Isocyanoacetate at Room Temperature

An effective, facile, trivial, and one‐pot procedure for the synthesis of chromenopyrroles from benzyl alcohols, 2‐hydroxyacetophenones, and methyl/ethyl isocyanoacetate at room temperature in the presence of visible light has been developed. The Ag salt plays an important role in the activation of isocyanoacetate and the cyclization step. Air‐stable and low‐cost Knölker iron complex has been utilized for the dehydrogenation of primary alcohols that would typically require a higher temperature. The established protocol is scalable and has an extensive functional group tolerance, generating good to excellent yields of the chromenopyrroles at room temperature.