Copper-Catalyzed Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Diorganyl Chalcogenides (Te/Se/S) from Boronic Acids under Solvent-Free Conditions

The efficient and mild copper-catalyzed synthesis of unsymmetrical diorganyl chalcogenides under ligand-and solvent-free conditions is described. The cross-coupling reaction was performed using aryl boric acids and 0.5 equiv. of diorganyl dichalcogenides (Te/Se/S) in the presence of 3 mol % of CuI and 3 equiv. of DMSO, under microwave irradiation. This new protocol allowed the preparation of several unsymmetrical diorganyl chalcogenides in good to excellent yields.