Chalcogen bonding enabled photosynthesis of aryl selenides from aryl sulfonium salts

Abstract

While aryl sulfonium salts have emerged as a powerful tool for the synthesis of aryl–aryl/CF₃ chalcogenides, a general and efficient charge transfer complex (CTC) strategy to access diverse aryl–aryl and aryl–alkyl chalcogenides remains underdeveloped. Herein, we describe a novel photoinduced chalcogen bonding (ChB) approach to synthesize aryl–aryl, aryl–alkyl selenides, and aryl–alkyl sulfides from aryl sulfonium salts. Our experimental and computational studies indicate that ChB facilitates the formation of a photoactive CTC between aryl sulfonium salts and dichalcogenides.