Reductive Dechlorination of Aryl Chlorides Using Hantzsch Ester
Herein, we report a transition-metal-free reductive dechlorination of aryl and alkyl chlorides using Hantzsch ester as the sole reductant. Operating under 365 nm UV irradiation or at 100 °C temperature, this method represents a significant simplification without the need for additional catalysts or inert protection. It exhibits excellent chemoselectivity, with reduction-sensitive functional groups, such as esters, aldehydes, and ketones, left completely intact. Mechanistic studies and DFT calculations reveal divergent mechanisms: a concerted S N Ar pathway under thermal conditions while a single-electron transfer (SET) pathway under photochemical conditions.
Authors
- Zesheng Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1264-5212)
- Han-Yuan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0294-3216)
- Yang Jiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8437-0038)
- Haitao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4710-3555)
- Yulin Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6037-6168)
Institutions
- Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (CN)
- Peking University (CN)
- Ministry of Education (RO)
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Organic Letters
- Published
- 2026-06-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.orglett.6c01997
- Primary Topic
- Environmental remediation with nanomaterials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation