Micellar photocatalysis enables divergent C-H arylation and N dealkylation of benzamides via N-acyliminium cations

Micellar photocatalysis has recently opened new avenues to activate strong carbon halide bonds. So far, however, it has mainly explored strongly reducing conditions restricting the available chemical space to radical or anionic reactivity. Here, we demonstrate a radical-polar crossover process involving cationic intermediates, which enables chemodivergent modification of chlorinated benzamide derivatives via either C H arylation or N dealkylation. The catalytic system operates under mild conditions employing methylene blue as a photocatalyst and blue LEDs as the light source. Factors determining the reactivity of substrates and preliminary mechanistic studies are presented.