Palladium-Catalyzed C2-Selective Direct Arylation of Benzo[ b ]thiophene 1,1-Dioxides with Arylboronic Acids.

A novel oxidative cross-coupling of benzo[ b ]thiophene 1,1-dioxides with arylboronic acids was reported. The efficient reaction occurred at the C2-position via C-H activation, followed by Pd(II)-catalyzed arylation. Furthermore, a series of C2-arylated products with significant photoluminescence properties have been synthesized and characterized, which illustrates the potential applications of our method in the aggregation-induced emission field.