The widespread application of 1,2,3-triazoles in pharmaceuticals has resulted in substantial interest toward developing efficient postmodification methods. Whereas there are many postmodification methods available to obtain N 1 -substituted 1,2,3-triazoles, developing a selective and convenient protocol to synthesize N 2 -aryl-1,2,3-triazoles has been challenging. We report a catalyst-free and regioselective method to access N 2 -aryl-1,2,3-triazoles in good to excellent yields (66−97%). This scalable postmodification protocol is effective for a wide range of substrates.

Molybdenum complexes devoid of a strongly coordinating pendant arm result in enhanced catalytic activity.