Volume 50, Issue 46 pp. 10913-10916
Communication

Friedel–Crafts Benzylation of Activated and Deactivated Arenes

Gabriel Schäfer

Gabriel Schäfer

Laboratorium für Organische Chemie, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Wolfgang Pauli Strasse 10, 8093 Zürich (Switzerland) http://www.bodegroup.org

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Prof. Dr. Jeffrey W. Bode

Corresponding Author

Prof. Dr. Jeffrey W. Bode

Laboratorium für Organische Chemie, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Wolfgang Pauli Strasse 10, 8093 Zürich (Switzerland) http://www.bodegroup.org

Laboratorium für Organische Chemie, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Wolfgang Pauli Strasse 10, 8093 Zürich (Switzerland) http://www.bodegroup.orgSearch for more papers by this author
First published: 22 September 2011
Citations: 67

This work was supported by ETH Research Grant ETH-12 11-1. We thank the ETH Zürich Mass Spectrometry Service for spectroscopic data, Aaron Dumas for helpful discussions, and Cam-Van Thi Vo for a preliminary study.

Graphical Abstract

NO going back makes possible facile Friedel–Crafts benzylations with moderate reaction temperatures, simple reaction workups, and improved substrate scope for the formation of synthetically important diarylmethanes (see scheme). Upon complexation with BF3⋅OEt2, hydroxamates serve as reversible leaving groups that stabilize highly reactive carbocations. Even deactivated arenes and electron-deficient benzylhydroxamates react cleanly under these conditions.

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