Alcohols were found to be arylated directly at their α‐C−H bond with arylhalides in the presence of a base and a substoichiometric amount of t ‐BuOOt ‐Bu through a homolytic aromatic substitution mechanism.
The α-oxyalkylation of aryl chlorides with ethers and alcohols using a small amount of a peroxide was found to be induced by photoirradiation. The reaction proceeds through a homolytic aromatic substitution (HAS) mechanism consisting of addition of an α-oxyalkyl radical to an aryl chloride and elimination of the chlorine atom to give the α-oxyalkylation product, where photoirradiation is considered