Metal-catalyst- and fluoride-free oxidative desilylation of arylsilanes and its application

A general and practical approach has been developed to construct aryloxy acrylates, esters, sulfonates, and ethers. This strategy performs smoothly to form the phenol intermediate through metal-catalyst- and fluoride-free oxidative desilylation of arylsilane, followed by Michael addition and nucleophilic substitution. This cascade reaction is characterized by its simple setup and broad functional group compatibility. Further transformation of the formed aryloxy acrylate demonstrated the rich chemistry of oxidative desilylation of organosilicon compounds.