Transition-Metal-Free, Visible-Light-Enabled Decarboxylative Borylation of Aryl N-Hydroxyphthalimide Esters

Herein, we report a conceptually novel borylation reaction proceeding via a mild photoinduced decarboxylation of redox-activated aromatic carboxylic acids. This work constitutes the first application of cheap and easily prepared N-hydroxyphthalimide esters as aryl radical precursors and does not require the use of expensive transition metals or ligands. The reaction is operationally simple, scalable, and displays broad scope and functional group tolerance.