Regioselective Oxidative Homocoupling Reaction: An Efficient Copper-Catalyzed Synthesis of Biimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines

A facile and efficient copper(I)-catalyzed intermolecular direct C-H homocoupling of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines with excellent C-3 regioselectivity in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) has been developed. This transformation provides a straightforward and operationally simple route for the preparation of biimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines which are an important structural motif in natural products and pharmaceuticals.