Organocatalysis and CH Activation Meet Radical‐ and Electron‐Transfer Reactions

Abstract

A radical outlook: Recently published “organocatalytic CH activation reactions” have now been interpreted as base-promoted homolytic substitutions. The addition of an aryl radical to an arene followed by deprotonation (see above) and electron transfer form part of the chain reaction. Although these new results are not conceptual breakthroughs, they could be experimental breakthroughs because they presage new transformations in radical (anion) chemistry.