Herein, we report a synthetic strategy that relies on a self‐developed organic photocatalyst for the efficient construction of imidazolines and oxazolidines. Using readily available 4‐methyl‐ N ‐(2‐phenylallyl)benzenesulfonamide alkenes and redox‐active esters (RAEs) or aryl diazonium tetrafluoroborates as substrates, the reaction proceeds in acetonitrile/acetone via photoredox‐initiated radical addition followed by ionic cyclization, which involves the formation of a key nitrilium/imidate‐type ionic intermediate. This transformation features mild reaction conditions and facile operation, not only expanding the application scope of the developed photocatalyst, but also providing a practical technical platform for the photocatalytic synthesis of structurally diverse bioactive molecules containing imidazoline and oxazolidine motifs.
Zhang et al. (Mon,) studied this question.