Recent progress in C(aryl)–C(alkyl) bond cleavage of alkylarenes

Abstract

Cleavage of the C(aryl)–C(alkyl) σ-bond is important both in academy and industry as it holds the potential to provide straightforward access to a variety of targets from readily available chemical feedstocks such like alkylarenes. However, C(aryl)–C(alkyl) bonds of alkylarenes remain intact under most conventional reaction conditions. In this review, we highlight the results of recent C(aryl)–C(alkyl) bond cleavages that have been induced by homogeneous transition metal reagents, by oxidative cleavages, and by rearrangement.