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Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Free Radicals in Chemical Biology: from Chemical Behavior to Biomarker Development
Published on: April 15, 2013
Metal-Free Radical Borylation of Alkyl and Aryl Iodides
Ying Cheng1, Christian Mück-Lichtenfeld1,2, Armido Studer1
1Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Organisch-Chemisches Institut, Corrensstrasse 40, 48149, Münster, Germany.
Abstract:
A metal-free radical borylation of alkyl and aryl iodides with bis(catecholato)diboron (B2 cat2 ) as the boron source under mild conditions is introduced. The borylation reaction is operationally easy to conduct and shows high functional group tolerance and broad substrate scope. Radical clock experiments and density functional theory calculations provide insights into the mechanism and rate constants for C-radical borylation with B2 cat2 are disclosed.
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