Selective, Catalytic, and Metal-Free Coupling of Electron-Rich Phenols and Anilides Using Molecular Oxygen as Terminal Oxidant

Selective oxidative homo- and cross-coupling of electron-rich phenols and anilides was developed using nitrosonium tetrafluoroborate as a catalyst. Oxidative coupling of phenols revealed unusual selectivities, which translated into the unprecedented synthesis of inverse Pummerer-type ketones. Mechanistic studies suggest that oxidative coupling of phenols and anilides shares a common pathway via homolytical heteroatom hydrogen bond cleavage. Nitrosonium salt catalysis was applied for cross-dehydrogenative coupling initiated by generation of heteroatom-centered radicals.