Abstract

The direct C–H aromatic addition to unsaturated polar bonds using abundant metals such as Mn and Co is scarce, and it has been mainly limited to the use of pyridine as a directing group. In this work, we introduce for the first time the use of oxazoline as a more versatile motif for this transformation, which can be further derivatized in other functional groups. The proposed mechanism shows a base-assisted formation of an Mn-tricarbonyl as the active species in the catalytic cycle, in contrast to the most reported Mn-tetracarbonyl complex. The mechanism was validated by experimental and DFT studies. © 2025 American Chemical Society