We report the first room-temperature direct C-2 arylation of indoles with iodoarenes by using a highly electrophilic palladium catalyst generated in situ from Pd(OAc)2 and a silver carboxylate. These mild conditions permit a broad set of functionalities both in the indole and in the aryl iodide units such as free alcohols, phenols, aldehydes, bromides, or nitriles, thus allowing the synthesis of a variety of novel compounds in excellent yields.

The first methodology for Au(I/III)-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling of arenes via double C-H activation has been developed. The reaction is fully selective for the cross-coupling between electron-rich hetero-/carbocyclic arenes and electron-poor arenes bearing relatively acidic C-H bonds. The inherently high cross-selectivity of the system obviates the need for directing groups or a large excess of one of the coupling partners.

The transition metal-catalysed direct functionalisation of C-H bonds is an increasingly viable alternative to the multi-step strategies traditionally adopted. The use of powerful and environmentally benign gold(I) and gold(III) catalysts in such transformations has highlighted their remarkable reactivity and led to a significant increase in their utilisation. This tutorial review provides an overview of gold-catalysed C-H functionalisation, looking at transformations which rely on the ability of gold to perform C-H activation, as well as those exploiting its potent π-acidity.

ABSTRACT:The use of stoichiometric Ag(I)-salts as additives in Pd-catalyzed C-H functionalization reactions is widespread. It is commonly proposed that this additive acts as an oxidant or as a halide scavenger promoting Pd-catalyst turnover. We demonstrate that, contrary to current proposals, phosphine ligated Ag(I)-carboxylates can efficiently carry out C-H activation on electrondeficient arenes. We show through a combination of stoichiometric and kinetic studies that a (PPh 3 )Ag-carboxylate is responsible for the C-H activation step in the Pd-catalyzed arylation of Cr(CO) 3 -complexed fluorobenzene. Furthermore, the reaction rate is controlled by the rate of Ag(I)-C-H activation, leading to an order zero on the Pd-catalyst. H/D scrambling studies indicate that this Ag(I) complex can carry out C-H activation on a variety of aromatic compounds traditionally used in Pd/Ag-mediated C-H functionalization methodologies.

The direct functionalization of phenols at the ortho and para position is generally facilitated by the electron-donating nature of the hydroxyl group. Accessing meta-functionalized phenols from the parent phenols, on the other hand, generally requires lengthy synthetic sequences. Here, we report the first methodology for the one-pot direct meta-selective arylation of phenols. This methodology is based on a traceless directing group relay strategy. In this process carbon dioxide is used as a transient directing group which facilitates a palladium catalyzed arylation meta to the phenol hydroxyl group with iodoarenes. This transformation proceeds with complete meta-selectivity and is compatible with a variety of functional groups both in the phenol and in the iodoarene coupling partner.