Aryl borates lie at the heart of carbon–carbon
bond couplings,
and they are widely applied to the synthesis of functional materials,
pharmaceutical compounds, and natural products. Currently, synthetic
methods for aryl borates are mostly limited to metal-catalyzed routes,
and nonmetallic strategies remain comparatively underdeveloped. Herein,
we report a mild, scalable, visible-light-induced cross-coupling between
aryl dibenzothiophenium triflate salts and bis(catecholato)-diboron
for the construction of C–B bonds in the absence of base, transition
metal–ligand complex, or photoredox catalyst. Mechanistic studies
reveal that this transformation is achieved through an electron donor–acceptor
(EDA) complex activation in the absence of a catalyst. The mild reaction
conditions allow the preparation of aromatic borates in good yields
with excellent functional group tolerance. This photochemical protocol
was also successfully applied to the late-stage modification of natural
products and the synthesis of a drug intermediate, greatly demonstrating
broadened utility.
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