Metal‐Free Visible‐Light Synthesis of Arylsulfonyl Fluorides: Scope and Mechanism

Abstract The first metal‐free procedure for the synthesis of arylsulfonyl fluorides is reported. Under organo‐photoredox conditions, aryl diazonium salts react with a readily available SO 2 source (DABSO) to afford the desired product through simple nucleophilic fluorination. The reaction tolerates the presence of both electron‐rich and ‐poor aryls and demonstrated a broad functional group tolerance. To shed the light on the reaction mechanism, several experimental techniques were combined, including fluorescence, NMR, and EPR spectroscopy as well as DFT calculations.