Alina Paffen, Calogero Quaranta, Kishor Gavhane, Hardik V. Mori, Frédéric W. Patureau, Carsten Bolm
A mechanochemical phenochalcogenazination (X = O, S, Se) of phenols and related compounds in the ball mill is reported. The reaction proceeds without a catalyst, and the triarylamine-based products are obtained in up to 99% yield in 60 minutes reaction time. The use of water-doped silica as an additive proved critical for the robustness and the reproducibility of the process.