WEPA: a bio- derived medium for added base, p- acid and ligand free Ullmann coupling of aryl halides using Pd( OAc) 2+

A bio-derived sustainable medium based on water extract of pomegranate ash (WEPA) has, for the first time, been developed for the homocoupling of aryl halides under palladium-assistance. Avoiding the requirement of an external base, ligand and -acid, the use of the proposed renewable medium offers remarkable attributes like wide substrate scope, good to nearly quantitative yields of biphenyls with exceptional chemoselectivity and scale up viability.