Radical-anion coupling through reagent design: hydroxylation of aryl halides.
Andrew J GreenerPatrycja UbyszWill Owens-WardGeorge SmithIvan OcañaAdrian C WhitwoodVictor ChechikMichael J JamesPublished in: Chemical science (2021)
The design and development of an oxime-based hydroxylation reagent, which can chemoselectively convert aryl halides (X = F, Cl, Br, I) into phenols under operationally simple, transition-metal-free conditions is described. Key to the success of this approach was the identification of a reducing oxime anion which can interact and couple with open-shell aryl radicals. Experimental and computational studies support the proposed radical-nucleophilic substitution chain mechanism.