Synthesis of Functionalized Imidazolium Salts viaIodine-Mediated Annulations of Enamines

A novel annulation reaction of two enamine molecules with iodine under basic conditions to form 4-functionalized imidazolium salts has been established. In this reaction, iodine acts as both an iodinating reagent and a Lewis acid catalyst. Features of this synthetic method include facilitative preparation of substrates, no use of transition metals, mild reaction conditions, simplicity of operation, and gram scale synthesis.