Arene-metal π-complexation as a traceless reactivity enhancer for C-H arylation

Current approaches to facilitate C-H arylation of arenes involve the use of either strongly electron-withdrawing substituents or directing groups. Both approaches require structural modification of the arene, limiting their generality. We present a new approach where C-H arylation is made possible without altering the connectivity of the arene via π-complexation of a Cr(CO)3 unit, greatly enhancing the reactivity of the aromatic C-H bonds. We apply this approach to monofluorobenzenes, highly unreactive arenes, which upon complexation become nearly as reactive as pentafluorobenzene itself in their couplings with iodoarenes. DFT calculations indicate that C-H activation via a concerted metalation-deprotonation transition state is facilitated by the predisposition of C-H bonds in (Ar-H)Cr(CO)3 to bend out of the aromatic plane.