Intermolecular oxidative cross-coupling of arenes

Biaryls constitute an important subunit found in medicinal agents, functional materials, and natural products. While the Suzuki reaction and related processes currently represent the method of choice for the construction of arene-arene bonds, the direct-coupling of two unfunctionalized arenes mediated by the addition of an oxidant represents a powerful alternative strategy for biaryl synthesis. This tutorial review describes recent progress in this rapidly developing field, focusing on intermolecular examples of selective arene oxidation strategies and metal-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling via C-H activation.