Efficient synthesis of alkyl aryl ketones & ketals via palladium-catalyzed regioselective arylation of vinyl ethers

The combination of Pd(OAc)(2) with 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane (dppp) in ethylene glycol constitutes a high-performance catalytic system for highly regioselective arylation of a range of electron-rich vinyl ethers by aryl bromides to provide, upon hydrolysis, alkyl aryl ketones and cyclic ketals in good yields with up to 3.75 x 10(5) TON and 15625 h(-1) TOF.