Transition metal-catalyzed arylation of unstrained C–C single bonds

Abstract

Carbon−carbon bond activation is one of the most challenging and important research areas in organic chemistry. Selective C−C bond activation of unstrained substrates is difficult to achieve owing to its inert nature and competitive side reactions, but the ubiquitous presence of C−C bond in organic molecules makes this transformation attractive and of vital importance. Moreover, transition metal-catalyzed arylation of unstrained C−C single bond can realize the cleavage of old C−C bonds and introduce important aryl group into the carbon chain to construct new C−C bonds at the same time, providing a powerful and straightforward method to reconstruct the skeleton of the molecules. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in the area of direct arylation of C−C bond, and -C elimination or oxidative addition strategies play key roles during these transformations. This review summarizes recent achievements of transition metal-catalyzed arylation of unstrained C−C bonds, which systematically demonstrates by various kinds of substrates including alcohol, nitrile and carbonyl compound, and each example is detailed by its corresponding mechanism, catalytic system and scope of substrate.