Palladium-Catalyzed Ortho-Arylation of Benzamides via Direct sp2 C-H Bond Activation

The palladium-catalyzed ortho-arylation of benzamides by aryl iodides has been demonstrated with the simplest amide CONH2 as a directing group for the first time. This protocol can be applied to various benzamides and aryl iodides with both electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups. In addition, the synthesized biphenyl-2-carboxamides can be further transformed to other biphenyl derivatives such as nitriles, carboxylic acids, carbamates, and amines.