HCl-Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidation of Alkylarenes to Carbonyls

The construction of C-O bonds through C-H bond functionalization remains fundamentally challenging. Here, a practical chlorine radical-mediated aerobic oxidation of alkylarenes to carbonyls was developed. This protocol employed commercially available HCl as a hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reagent and air as a sustainable oxidant. In addition, this process exhibited excellent functional group tolerance and a broad substrate scope without the requirement for external metal and oxidants. The mechanistic hypothesis was supported by radical trapping, O-18 labeling, and control experiments.

Automated summary

A practical chlorine radical-mediated aerobic oxidation method for converting alkylarenes to carbonyls was developed in this study. This strategy utilized HCl as a hydrogen atom transfer reagent and air as a sustainable oxidant, showing excellent functional group tolerance and a broad substrate scope without the need for external metal and oxidants. The mechanistic hypothesis was supported by radical trapping, O-18 labeling, and control experiments.