1-(α-Aminobenzyl)-2-naphthol as phosphine-free ligand for Pd-catalyzed Suzuki and one-pot Wittig-Suzuki reaction

Air stable and easily accessible, 1-(alpha-aminobenzyl)-2-naphthols are used as efficient phosphine-free ligands in palladium-catalyzed Suzuki reaction for a variety of substrates under conventional heating as well as ultrasonic conditions. Multi-brominated aromatic substrates were successfully converted to corresponding arylated moieties with good conversion and selectivity. A novel one-pot two-step cascade reaction strategy involving Wittig and Suzuki reactions is developed for efficient synthesis of 4-styryl biphenyls (C-6-C-2-C-6-C-6 unit). Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.