New trends for transition metal-catalyzed ortho/ipso difunctionalizations of arenes

Direct access to polyfunctionalized compounds by regioselective vicinal difunctionalizations of arenes is a challenging synthetic task that inspired the scientific community for years. The discovery of the Catellani reaction in 1997, a palladium-catalyzed vicinal difunctionalization reaction, was a real game-changer. This new paradigm offered various possibilities to access ortho/ipso-difunctionalized arenes and garnered attention over the years. From this pioneering work, innovative strategies have emerged. This perspective provides an overview of recent advances made in the field of catalytic vicinal arene difunctionalizations. It highlights current challenges and discusses future perspectives and opportunities.