Ruthenium-catalyzed site-selective C-H arylation of 2-pyridones and 1-isoquinolinones.

An efficient Ru(ii)-catalyzed site-selective C-H arylation of 2-pyridones and 1-isoquinolinones was achieved with boronic acids by using pyridine as a directing group. The developed protocol is general and provides rapid access to an array of C6-arylated 2-pyridones and C3-arylated 1-isoquinolinones in excellent yields. These designed arylated 2-pyridones and 1-isoquinolinones can serve as key structural motifs for accessing functionalized pyridines and isoquinolines.