One-Pot Synthesis of Diaryl 1,2-Diketones via Zn-Mediated Reductive Coupling.

A reductive coupling reaction was established for the synthesis of diaryl 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds from aryl methyl ketones in good yields. The mechanistic study showed the reaction undergoes C(CO)-C(sp 3 ) bond cleavage, with the reductive coupling reaction occurring through an electron transfer process. Notably, the reaction not only is simple to operate but also has mild reaction conditions and a wide range of applicable substrates.