Photocatalyst-Free Visible-Light-Induced Decarbonylation/Truce–Smiles Rearrangement Cascade to Access 2-Aminobenzophenones

A visible-light-induced decarbonylation/Truce–Smiles rearrangement cascade has been developed for the direct synthesis of 2-aminobenzophenones. This protocol employs readily available isatins and sulfonyl chlorides as starting materials, enabling the construction of diverse 2-aminobenzophenone derivatives under mild conditions without the need for transition metal catalysts or photocatalysts. The reaction exhibits a broad substrate scope, excellent functional group tolerance, and high efficiency. A total of 32 derivatives were synthesized with yields that reached 99%. The practicality of this approach was further demonstrated through a gram-scale reaction, highlighting its potential for synthetic applications.