AIBN initiated functionalization of the benzylic sp3 C[sbnd]H and C[sbnd]C bonds in the presence of dioxygen

Abstract

A sp3 CH bond functionalization and CC bond cleavage were realized by AIBN/O2 catalyst system, providing a series of benzophenones under mild reaction conditions. The mechanistic study shows that a peroxide intermediate is involved in this transformation, and in the case of diphenylmethanes, the sp3 CC bond is cleaved through the peroxide rearrangement, which might provides a new way to cleave relatively strong CC bond and be applied to more general CC bond activation.