Access to Aryl Thianthrenium Salts via Main Group Metathesis

Aryl thianthrenium salts are versatile reagents for organic synthesis, yet access to these compounds is generally limited to aryl rings bearing electron-donating groups. Here, we describe a method to synthesize a wide range of aryl thianthrenium salts that would be inaccessible from the corresponding simple arene using arylboron reagents. The scope includes >20 examples (40-86%, with a 69% average), and preliminary mechanistic studies highlight the importance of the main group element on controlling reaction pathways.