Synthesis of cinnolines via Rh(iii)-catalysed dehydrogenative C-H/N-H functionalization: aggregation induced emission and cell imaging.

Rhodium catalysed dehydrogenative C-H/N-H functionalization was developed to construct phthalazino[2,3-a]-/indazolo[1,2-a]cinnolines by reacting N-phenyl phthalazine/indazole with alkynes. The synthesized compounds exhibit prominent fluorescence properties in solid and aggregation states. Their application in cell imaging was investigated using various cancer cell lines.