Next-generation functional surfactant for mild C−H arylation under micellar conditions

Micellar reaction conditions have emerged as a powerful and sustainable strategy in synthetic organic chemistry. Numerous transformations have been reported to work under micellar conditions; however, transformations such as C−H activation remain scarce, and the compartmentalization effects are not yet fully understood. Herein, we describe a rational surfactant design for challenging C−H activation. Incorporating a pyridone ligand into a commercially available PS-750-M surfactant allows for overcoming the compartmentalization issues, resulting in an efficient Ru-catalyzed direct arylation under mild reaction conditions and with excellent selectivity. Physicochemical characterization of this surfactant shed light on the inherent properties of the novel PyOH-750-M surfactant while recycling of the surfactant allows for product formation with a low E-factor of 5.5 without a drop in reactivity.