Transition-metal-free direct alkylation of aryl tetrazoles via intermolecular oxidative C-N formation.

A transition-metal-free synthetic approach for constructing alkylated aryl tetrazoles has been developed using n-Bu4NI as the catalyst and t-BuOOH as the oxidant. It involves the direct C-N bond formation through sp(3) C-H activation. A wide range of benzylic C-H substrates (or alkyl ethers) and aryl tetrazoles undergo this reaction smoothly to deliver the corresponding products in good yields.