Formal organocatalytic fluoronitromethane addition to tetrahydroisoquinolines through a CDC process

Recently, green chemistry has attracted significant attention due to societal challenges regarding waste generation and energy consumption. Consequently, cross-dehydrogenative couplings (CDC) have emerged as a premier strategy for C–C bond formation. In this work, we report a novel organocatalytic cascade methodology based on the CDC activation of tetrahydroisoquinolines, followed by the formal addition of fluoronitromethane. The reaction is catalyzed by organic dyes (Rose Bengal) using green LEDs as a light source and molecular oxygen as the stoichiometric oxidant, enabling the synthesis of fluorinated compounds in good yields.