Relative Strength of Common Directing Groups in Palladium-Catalyzed Aromatic C-H Activation.

Efficient functionalization of C-H bonds can be achieved using transition metal catalysts, such as Pd(OAc). To better control the regioselectivity in these reactions, some functional groups on the substrate may be used as directing groups, guiding the reactivity to an ortho position. Herein, we describe a methodology to score the relative strength of such directing groups in palladium-catalyzed aromatic C-H activation.