Achieving Diverse Functionalizations of Electron‐Deficient Aryl Halides via Carbonate‐Mediated Electron‐Donor–Acceptor Complexes

Aryl halides are excellent precursors for functional group interconversion due to their malleability and diversity. They are also among the most common building blocks due to their use in cross-coupling reactions. Traditional methodologies for activating these motifs make use of expensive precious metals, such as palladium, and often require the use of complex and even more expensive ligands. Electron-donor-acceptor complexes have recently gained attention as a new photo-induced approach for the activation of various molecular motifs, including aryl halides. Herein, further extension of these methodologies led to the development of a straightforward and simple protocol that uses inexpensive carbonate bases for the activation of electron-deficient aryl iodides and bromides. The procedure was employed for the arylation, dehalogenation, deuteration, chalcogenation, and borylation of aryl halide starting materials.