Visible Light Mediated Organocatalytic Activation of Ethyl Bromofluoroacetate: Coupling with Indoles and Anilines

The activation of ethyl bromofluoroacetate employing a visible light mediated, Eosin Y catalyzed photoredox transformation is reported. Using indoles and anilines as nucleophiles, the reaction leads to the formation of two Csp2–Csp3 bonds resulting in an efficient synthesis of bisindolyl and bisanilinoyl acetate derivatives. Application of this method to the direct synthesis of unsymmetrical diarylacetates featuring indoles and N-substituted anilines was also demonstrated.