Facile Friedel–Crafts alkylation of arenes under solvent-free conditions

Abstract

The Friedel–Crafts alkylation of arenes is an important part of electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions. However, the reactivity of arenes is weakened by electron-withdrawing substituents, leading to limited substrate scopes and applications. Herein, we developed an efficient HOTf-promoted Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction of broad arenes with α-aryl-α-diazoesters under metal-free and solvent-free conditions.