Sterically controlled C-H/C-H homocoupling of arenes via C-H borylation.

A mild one-pot protocol for the synthesis of symmetrical biaryls by sequential Ir-catalyzed C-H borylation and Cu-catalyzed homocoupling of arenes is described. The regiochemistry of the biaryl formed is sterically controlled as dictated by the C-H borylation step. The methodology is also successfully extended to heteroarenes. Some of the products obtained by this approach are impossible to obtain via the Ullmann or the Suzuki coupling protocols. Finally, we have shown a one-pot sequence describing C-H borylation/Cu-catalyzed homocoupling/Pd-catalyzed Suzuki coupling to obtain π-extended arene frameworks.