Base‐Promoted Regioselective Synthesis of α‐Amino BODIPYs through Cross‐Dehydrogenative Coupling with Anilines

Abstract The construction of C−N bond at the α ‐position of BODIPYs (boron dipyrromethene) not only enables flexible reactivity but also leads to strong electron‐donating properties. In this study, a base‐promoted oxidative cross‐dehydrogenative coupling was developed to synthesize α ‐amino BODIPYs with air as a green oxidant. By this strategy, a series of weak nitrogen nucleophiles, such as heteroaryl and aryl anilines, were installed to the α ‐position. Remarkably, pyrrole, pyrazole and indole were also employed to realize the synthesis of α ‐heteroaryl BODIPYs through direct functionalization. Further aggregation‐induced emission enhancement (AIE) properties and lipid droplet‐targeting bioimaging experiments of representative dyes demonstrated their potential applications as organic probes.