Contemporary methods for generation of aryl radicals

Abstract

The synthetic utility of aryl radicals has been established in the last century, however, their broad applications were hampered by ineffective generation methods. It was in the last decade, that a rapid development of various redox systems took place, thus triggering a renaissance of aryl radical chemistry. This tutorial review focuses on the start-of-the-art methods for generation of aryl radicals. Primarily, various light-induced systems, including photoredox catalysis, visible light transition metal catalysis, and chemistry of electron donor–acceptor complexes, are reviewed. The main current precursors of aryl radicals are evaluated together with the selected examples of their modern applications.