Selective Mechanochemical Monoarylation of Unbiased Dibromoarenes by in Situ Crystallization

Palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions of liquid, unbiased dibromoarenes under mechanochemical conditions selectively afford the monoarylated products. The lower reactivity of the crystalline monoarylated products relative to the liquid starting materials should be attributed predominantly to the low diffusion efficiency of the former in the reaction mixture, which results in a selective monoarylation. The present study sheds light on a novel approach using in situ phase transitions in solids to design selective organic transformations that are difficult to achieve via conventional solution-based synthesis.