Copper-Catalyzed Arylation of Benzylic C-H bonds with Alkylarenes as the Limiting Reagents.

A novel copper-catalyzed arylation of benzylic C-H bonds with nucleophilic arylboronic acids has been developed that provides an efficient way to synthesize various 1,1-diarylalkanes with a broad substrate scope and excellent functional group compatibility. The reactions occur at room temperature using alkylarenes as the limiting reagents, which allows access to the arylation of the more valuable and complex bioactive compounds.