Advancements and perspectives toward radical Truce–Smiles-type rearrangement

Abstract

Radical Smiles rearrangement as a potent synthetic platform for arene functionalization efficiently facilitates the construction of (hetero)aromatic groups under gentle reaction conditions, and has proven to be a valuable tool for the late-stage functionalization of pharmaceutical molecules of interest. The rapid expansion in this field has resulted in numerous new findings over the past five years, yet no specific review has been focused on the radical Truce–Smiles rearrangement so far. This review offers a comprehensive overview of recent progress in this field and contributes to future research. The synthetic tactics are reviewed by highlighting their product diversity, selectivity and applicability, and the mechanistic rationale where possible. It is expected that this minireview will serve as a source of inspiration for promoting the development of radical Truce–Smiles rearrangement for its potential in drug discovery.