C(sp²)-Arylsulfones Directly from Arylsulfonyl Chlorides with Boronic Acids by Photoactivation of Boosted EDA...

Directly with arylsulfonyl chlorides, a green and efficient deborylativesulfonylation of aryl(alkenyl)boronic acids has been developed to access both diarylsulfones and vinylarylsulfones in moderate to excellent yields at room temperature under visible-light irradiation. This protocol features broad C(sp²)-arylsulfone applicability, simple operation, accessibility of raw materials and ease of scale-up. The key to the success of this photoredox transformation is introducing catalytic amounts of additives, naphthalen-2-ols, thus boosting the formed electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complexes, which can dramatically improve not only the reaction efficiency but also the selectivity. This strategy was inspired and derived from specific substrates, representing a rare paradigm of how to exploit a more general reaction system. Moreover, extensive control experiments provide insights into the proposed mechanism.