Regioselective Hypervalent‐Iodine( III )‐Mediated Dearomatizing Phenylation of Phenols through Direct Ligand Coupling

Dearomatization: Treatment of phenols and naphthols substituted at the ortho position by a small electron-donating group D with chlorodiphenyl-λ3-iodane leads to their regioselective ortho phenylation to give cyclohexa-2,4-dienone derivatives (see scheme). The mechanism of this reaction involves a nonradical direct coupling of the ligands.