Achieving Diverse Functionalizations of Electron-Deficient Aryl Halides via Carbonate-Mediated...

Aryl halides are excellent precursors for functional group interconversion due to their malleability and diversity. They are also among the most common building blocks due to their use in cross-coupling reactions. Traditional methodologies for activating these motifs make use of expensive precious metals, such as palladium, and often require the use of complex and even more expensive ligands. Electron-donor-acceptor complexes have recently gained attention as a new photo-induced approach for the activation of various molecular motifs, including aryl halides. Herein, further extension of these methodologies led to the development of a straightforward and simple protocol that uses inexpensive carbonate bases for the activation of electron-deficient aryl iodides and bromides. The procedure was employed for the arylation, dehalogenation, deuteration, chalcogenation, and borylation of aryl halide starting materials.