Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Coupling of Arenes with Cyclopropanols via C–H Activation and Ring Opening

Rhodium-catalyzed C–H activation of arenes has been established as an important strategy for the rapid construction of new bonds. On the other hand, ring-opening of readily available cyclopropanols has served as a driving force for the coupling with various nucleophiles and electrophiles. Nevertheless, these two important areas evolved separately, and coupling of arenes with cyclopropanols via C–H activation has been rarely explored. In this work, the oxidative coupling between arenes and cyclopropanols has been realized with high efficiency and selectivity under Rh­(III)-catalysis, providing an efficient route to access β-aryl ketones. Moreover, the C–H bond has been extended to benzylic C–H bonds.铑催化的芳烃（arenes）C-H活化（C–H activation）已被确立为快速构建新型化学键的重要策略。另一方面，易得的环丙醇（cyclopropanols）开环反应可作为与各类亲核试剂、亲电试剂偶联的驱动力。然而，这两个重要研究领域此前始终独立发展，而通过C-H活化实现芳烃与环丙醇的偶联反应鲜有研究报道。本研究在三价铑（Rh(III)）催化体系下，成功实现了芳烃与环丙醇的氧化偶联，反应兼具高效性与高选择性，为β-芳基酮（β-aryl ketones）的制备提供了一条便捷高效的合成路径。此外，该反应的适用底物范围还拓展至苄基C-H键（benzylic C–H bonds）。