The Hantzsch dihydropyridine 1 has recently been used as a transfer-hydrogenation reagent in the organocatalytic reduction of imines,[1] α, β-unsaturated aldehydes,[2] and pyridines.[3] These reductions proceed by hydride transfer from the dihydropyridine to an activated acceptor. However, the application of Hantzsch-type dihydropyridines as H donors in radical chain reactions has not been reported to date. We have recently shown that the ...
