Decarboxylative C–H Arylation of Benzoic Acids under Radical Conditions

Abstract

A decarboxylative radical cyclization reaction has been developed for the synthesis of fluorenones. The reaction uses Ag(I)/K2S2O8 to oxidatively decarboxylate an aroylbenzoic acid to an aryl radical, which undergoes cyclization to afford fluorenone products in good yield.