Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.136, No.11, 4363-4368, 2014
Hydroarylation of Arynes Catalyzed by Silver for Biaryl Synthesis
A new biaryl synthesis via silver-catalyzed hydroarylation of arynes from acyclic building blocks with unactivated arenes in intra- and intermolecular manners has been developed. The previously observed Diels-Alder reactions of arynes with arene were not observed under the current silver-catalyzed conditions. Deuterium scrambling and DFT calculations suggest a stepwise electrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism through the formation of a Wheland-type intermediate followed by a water-catalyzed proton transfer in the final step of the hydroarylation.