Arenophile-Mediated Dearomative Functionalization Strategies

The dearomatization of arenes is a fundamental synthetic strategy, providing a direct connection between simple hydrocarbons and valuable, more complex intermediates. While several strategies exist, the functionalization with concurrent introduction of functionality (i.e., dearomative functionalization) is still a largely underdeveloped field. This Synpacts article provides an overview and insights from our recent work in this area using small molecules—arenophiles. 1 Introduction 2 Arenophiles 3 Olefin-Like Dearomative Functionalizations 4 Arenophiles and Transition-Metal Catalysis 5 Applications in Natural Product Synthesis 6 Conclusion