Photochemical Alkene Isomerization for the Synthesis of Polysubstituted Furans and Pyrroles under Neutral Conditions

A photochemical approach to polysubstituted heterocycles using UV-induced alkene isomerization is described. The method allows for the synthesis of disubstituted furans and pyrroles under mild and neutral conditions and also provides access to a class of trisubstituted furans pertinent to natural-product synthesis. The method has broad functional-group tolerance and many richly decorated heterocycles have been prepared incorporating functional groups that are unstable under Brønsted and Lewis acidic conditions.