Iodonium Ylides as Carbene Precursors in Rh(III)-Catalyzed C–H Activation

The rhodium(III)-catalyzed coupling of C–H substrates with iodonium ylides has been realized for the efficient synthesis of diverse cyclic skeletons, where the iodonium ylides have been identified as efficient and outstanding carbene precursors. The reaction systems are applicable to both sp2 and sp3 C–H substrates under mild and redox-neutral conditions. The catalyst loading can be as low as 0.5 mol % in a gram-scale reaction. Representative products exhibit cytotoxicity toward human cancer cells at nanomolar levels.