Palladium-Catalyzed Synthesis of Selectively Substituted Phenanthridine Derivatives

Abstract Selectively substituted phenanthridine derivatives are obtained by a facile reaction of o ‐alkylated aryl iodides, o ‐bromoarenesulfonylanilines and activated olefins in the presence of palladium and norbornene as catalysts. The reaction takes place under mild conditions to give the products in satisfactory yields using readily available starting materials.