Organocatalyzed Friedel–Crafts arylation of benzylic alcohols

Electron-rich aromatic and heteroaromatic rings are functionalized directly with a variety of benzylic alcohols under mild conditions. The reaction is catalyzed by commercially available pentafluorophenylboronic acid, which is stable under ambient conditions and recoverable. The reaction itself is highly atom economical and produces water as the only byproduct. A Friedel–Crafts mechanism is proposed.