Regioselective Oxidative C–H Phosphonation of Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and Related Heteroarenes Mediated by Manganese(III) Acetate

Herein, we report a MnIII-mediated regioselective method for the direct C–H phosphonation of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines by using dialkyl phosphites. 3-Phosphonated imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines are synthesized in good to excellent yields under the optimized reaction conditions. The present method is also applicable to the functionalization of related heteroarenes, and unlike previously reported methods, the present strategy works well with (NH)-heteroarenes.