A Versatile Approach for the Synthesis of para-Substituted Arenes via Palladium-Catalyzed C-H Functionalization and Protodecarboxylation of Benzoic Acids

While a great number of ortho C-H functionalization reactions have been developed and several breakthroughs have been achieved in meta C-H activation, para C-H functionalization is still in its infancy stage. In this article, a versatile strategy for the synthesis of para-substituted arenes has been developed via a tandem process consisting of palladium-catalyzed C-H functionalization and subsequent copper-catalyzed protodecarboxylation of benzoic acids. Both electron-withdrawing and electron-donating functionalities can be introduced into the para positions of arenes bearing a variety of substituents.