Catalytic cross-coupling with copper and light

Carbon-nitrogen bond-forming reactions of amines with aryl halides to generate arylamines (anilines), mediated by a stoichiometric copper reagent at elevated temp. (>180 °C), were first described by Ullmann in 1903. Recent advances in catalytic Ullmann-type cross-couplings make these bond-forming processes powerful tools for org. synthesis. In this talk I will describe a recent collaborative effort between the Fu and Peters research groups at Caltech to develop photo-induced, copper-catalyzed C-X cross-couplings (X = N, S, O, C) as a methodolgically simple, mild approach to Ullmann-type bond constructions.