Catalytic Concerted SAr Reactions of Fluoroarenes by an Organic Superbase.

We herein propose that the catalytic concerted SAr reaction is a powerful method to prepare functionalized aromatic scaffolds. Classic stepwise SAr reactions involving addition/elimination processes require the use of electron-deficient aromatic halides to stabilize Meisenheimer intermediates, despite their widespread use in medicinal chemistry research. Recent efforts have been made to develop concerted SAr reactions involving a single transition state, allowing the use of electron-rich substrates based on the use of stoichiometric amounts of strong bases or reactive nucleophiles.