Construction of Biaryl Skeletons Initiated with Benzyne Insertion into C═S Double Bond of Pyridine-2(1H)-thiones

Benzyne insertion reactions have become a versatile strategy for introducing diverse functional groups onto the benzene ring under transition-metal-free conditions. However, research on employing this method to introduce aryl/alkenyl groups onto the benzene ring is rather limited, with constrained structural scopes. Here, biaryl skeletons are readily prepared by harnessing the insertion of benzyne into C═S double bond of pyridine-2(1H)-thiones, where a pyridyl and an arylthio or alkenylthio group are simultaneously introduced on the formal triple bond of a benzyne. It is worth noting that these compounds can not only be further derivatized into 1,2-diarylbenzenes or 2-alkenyl-1,1'-biaryls via desulfurization, but can also form various complexes with different metals through diverse coordination modes.