Fe(III)-catalyzed p -selective C-H bond chalcogenation of phenols.

An efficient, eco-friendly, and scalable protocol has been introduced for the p -selective C-X (X = Se/S) bond formation of phenols employing earth-abundant, less-toxic Fe(III)-catalysts and the green solvent ethanol without using any directing template, stabilizing ligands, oxidants, or additives. The key attraction lies in the impressive p -selectivity with moderate to good yields, wide functional group compatibility under mild aerobic reaction conditions, and the synthetic modification of the products towards value-added molecules.