Metal‐ and Oxidant‐Free Alkenyl C−H/Aromatic C−H Cross‐Coupling Using Electrochemically Generated Iodosulfonium Ions

: A three-step transformation consisting of 1) addition of electrochemically generated iodosulfonium ions to vinylarenes to give (1-aryl-2-iodoethoxy)sulfonium ions, 2) nucleophilic substitution by subsequently added aromatic compounds to give 1,1-diaryl-2-iodoethane, and 3) elimination of HI with a base to give 1,1-diarylethenes was developed. The transformation serves as a powerful metal- and chemical-oxidant-free method for alkenyl C-H/aromatic C-H cross-coupling.