LAUSR

A one-pot, four-component reaction was developed for the synthesis of indolizines from pyridines, α-halide carbonyl compounds, primary amines, and maleic anhydride. The key step in this reaction involved the copper-catalyzed aerobic oxidative aromatization of a tetrahydrogen–indolizine intermediate. Oxygen gas was employed as a clean oxidant to facilitate the catalytic process. Notably, this transformation used readily available starting materials, exhibited broad substrate scope, was easy to handle, and required mild reaction conditions.