Copper-Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidation Strategy: A Concise Route To Isatin

A copper-catalyzed decarbonylation cyclization to form isatins using oxygen as terminal oxidant is developed. This complementary way offers a new protocol for the synthesis of isatins through C(sp(3))-H bond functionalization in Cu/O-2/Co system. This system shows good reactivity and compatibility. Both electron-rich and electron-deficient functional groups can be tolerated. A postulated mechanism is proposed based on mechanistic studies and previous reports.