Development and Mechanistic Studies of Iron-Catalyzed Construction of Csp2-B Bonds via C-O Bond Activation

Herein we describe an iron-catalyzed borylation of alkenyl and aryl carbamates through the activation of a C-O bond. This protocol exhibits high efficiency, a broad substrate scope, and the late-stage borylation of biorelevant compounds, thus providing potential applications in medicinal chemistry. Moreover, this method enables orthogonal transformations of phenol derivatives and also offers good opportunities for the synthesis of multi-substituted arenes. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest that a Fe-II/Fe-III catalytic cycle via a radical pathway might be involved in the reaction.