Copper‐Catalyzed Regio‐ and Diastereoselective Dearomative Carbosilylation of Unactivated Arenes by Intercepting the Dienyl Radical
The radical-mediated dearomatization of aromatic systems to generate cyclohexadienyl radical intermediates represents a crucial strategy for constructing three-dimensional molecular architectures. Conventional approaches typically through ipso-addition and subsequent proton/oxygen/carbon dioxide trapping to suppress rapid re-aromatization, significantly constraining product diversity. Furthermore, dearomative bifunctionalization reactions-which offer enhanced step- and atom-economy-remain substantially underdeveloped. Herein, we disclose a copper-catalyzed radical dearomative 1,4- and 1,2-carbosilylation strategy applicable to diverse unactivated (hetero)aromatic substrates to selectively construct spiro- or fused-cyclic products. The resulting vinyl and allylic silanes serve as versatile synthetic handles for downstream transformations, enabling the rapid construction of sp<sup>3</sup>-rich polycyclic scaffolds that are highly valuable in drug discovery. Mechanistic and DFT studies indicate that the reaction commences with copper(I)-silicon-mediated halogen atom transfer of readily available aryl iodides to generate aryl radicals. These reactive species exhibit dual pathways: direct ipso-addition to aromatic rings or 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer followed by alkyl radical-mediated ortho-addition. Subsequent trapping of the resulting dienyl radicals by copper(II)-silicon species yields complex polycyclic systems containing cyclohexadienylsilicon frameworks with excellent chemo-, regio- and diastereoselectivity. This methodology not only establishes a novel paradigm for copper-catalyzed radical dearomative bifunctionalization but also provides an efficient radical ipso- and ortho-addition platform for synthesizing architecturally intricate polycyclic compounds.
Authors
- Zunsheng Chen
- Qi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6422-5020)
- He Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3711-4485)
- Beibei Yi
- Zhihan Zhang
- Kuili Liang
- Jinrong Li
- Qiuling Yang
- Jianzhong Lu
- Rui Guo
- Jialian Zheng
- Zi‐Qing Li
Institutions
- Central China Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2026-01-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202523719
- Primary Topic
- Radical Photochemical Reactions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Central China Normal University
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities