Copper‐Catalyzed Aryne Insertion into the Carbon‐Iodine Bond of Heteroaryl Iodides

Abstract Aryne insertions into the carbon‐iodine bond of heteroaryl iodides has been achieved for the first time. This novel reaction provides an efficient pathway for the synthesis of valuable building blocks 2‐iodoheterobiaryls from heteroaryl iodides and o‐silylaryl triflates in excellent regioselectivity. The copper(I) catalyst, which bears a N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand, is essential to accomplish the reaction. Control reactions and DFT calculations indicate that the coordination of copper, as a Lewis acid, with nitrogen atoms of heteroaryl iodides mediates the insertion of arynes into heteroaryl carbon‐iodine bonds.