Unusual protons: Brønsted acids sandwiched between sheets of solid acids, such as montmorillonites, activated quinone monoacetals 1 to selectively react with aromatic nucleophiles 2 in an unprecedented substitution reaction. The synthetic utility of the strategy for obtaining highly oxygenated biaryls 3 is highlighted by the synthesis of gilvocarcin aglycones.

The expeditious and efficient [3+2] coupling approach of quinone monoacetals 1 with alkene nucleophiles 2 by the action of an activated Brønsted acid in the presence of a hydrogen bond donor perfluorinated alcohol has been achieved. With the optimized combined acid, the reaction could proceed under mild conditions by only mixing the two reactants to afford the cycloadducts 3 in a short time (within 10 min) with good to quantitative yields.

A simple and efficient synthesis of phenol biaryls by the cross-couplings of quinone monoacetals (QMAs) and phenols is reported. The Brønsted acid catalytic system in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol was found to be particularly efficient for this transformation. This reaction can be extended to the synthesis of various phenol biaryls, including sterically hindered biaryls, with yields ranging from 58 to 90 % under mild reaction conditions and in a highly regiospecific manner.

One by one: starting from simple phenols, a diverse series of oxygenated terphenyl compounds can be prepared in a concise and practical manner using sequential arylation reactions involving phenol oxidation/rearomatization and quinone monoacetal intermediates. Many of the terphenyl products can be used for preparing well-defined oligomers and, furthermore, contain valuable functional groups that can be transformed for further diversification.

A simple and efficient synthesis of phenol biaryls by the cross‐couplings of quinone monoacetals (QMAs) and phenols is reported. The Brønsted acid catalytic system in 1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexafluoro‐2‐propanol was found to be particularly efficient for this transformation. This reaction can be extended to the synthesis of various phenol biaryls, including sterically hindered biaryls, with yields ranging from 58 to 90 % under mild reaction conditions and in a highly regiospecific manner.