Selective Acylation of Aryl- and Heteroarylmagnesium Reagents with Esters in Continuous Flow

A selective acylation of readily accessible organomagnesium reagents with commercially available esters proceeds at convenient temperatures and short residence times in continuous flow. Flow conditions allow us to prevent premature collapse of the hemiacetal intermediates despite noncryogenic conditions, thus furnishing ketones in good yields. Throughout, the coordinating ability of the ester and/or Grignard was crucial for the reaction outcome. This was leveraged by the obtention of several bisaryl ketones using 2-hydroxy ester derivatives as substrates.