A Direct CH Arylation of Unactivated Arenes Promoted by Mixed Potassium Alkoxides

An intermolecular CH arylation of unactivated arenes with aryl iodides is made viable through a transition-metal-free approach. This simple and efficient process obviates the common use of diamines or diols as the promoters. With the aid of only mixed potassium alkoxides, a number of unactivated arene CH bonds can be directly arylated through a homolytic aromatic substitution (HAS) pathway.