Imidazopyridine substituted cyclic selenolium salts as chalcogen bond activators

We present imidazopyridine-substituted dicationic selenolium salts as a new class of highly tuneable organoselenium catalysts. These monodentate chalcogen bond activators were prepared through a mild oxidation-cyclization protocol, incorporating cationic heterocycles to enhance the σ-hole on selenium. The selenolium salts demonstrate high catalytic activites in Povarov cyclizations and activating gold complexes, highlighting their potential in advanced catalytic applications.