HCl-Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidation of Alkylarenes to Carbonyls
The construction of C?O bonds through C?H bond functionalization remains fundamentally challenging. Here, a practical chlorine radical-mediated aerobic oxidation of alkylarenes to carbonyls was developed. This protocol employed commercially available HCl as a hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reagent and air as a sustainable oxidant. In addition, this process exhibited excellent functional group tolerance and a broad substrate scope without the requirement for external metal and oxidants. The mechanistic hypothesis was supported by radical trapping, 18O labeling, and control experiments.