Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Diaryl Tellurides Under Mechanical Ball Milling in Room Temperature

An efficient transition metal catalyst-free protocol for the synthesis of unsymmetrical diaryl tellurides has been developed by the reaction of diaryl tellurides and aryl diazonium tetrafluoroborates under mechanical ball milling in the absence of any solvent and base under room temperature. InBr (Indium Bromide) plays an important role in generating the organotelluride nucleophile via the Te-Te bond cleavage of ditelluride. A library of diaryl tellurides bearing both electron-donating and withdrawing groups in the aromatic ring has been synthesized in good to excellent yields by this protocol. Despite very high synthetic importance of diaryl tellurides in the field of organic synthesis, very few protocols have been reported to date for their synthesis. The reactions were also performed on a gram scale without any considerable change in the yields, which surely broadened the applicability of this methodology in the industrial field.