Direct Catalytic C(sp2)-SuFEx Coupling of Sulfonyl Fluorides with Unactivated Arenes
Woo Hee Kim1,2, Hoonhwi Cho1, Jin Seong Hyeon2
1Department of Chemistry, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
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Sulfur-fluoride exchange (SuFEx) is a powerful platform for constructing diverse functional molecules, yet catalytic C(sp2)-SuFEx reactions of sulfonyl fluorides remain underexplored. Here, we report a silylium Lewis-acid-catalyzed coupling of sulfonyl fluorides with unactivated arenes. The method tolerates diverse substrates, uses simple arenes, and proceeds under solvent-, transition-metal-, and additive-free conditions with scalable synthesis. Mechanistic studies reveal efficient S-F activation by silylium ion pairs, enabling C-SuFEx sulfone formation.
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