Catalytic Regioselective Oxidative Coupling of Furan-2-Carbonyls with Simple Arenes

Oxidative coupling of arenes by dual C-H activation, thereby avoiding prefunctionalization of coupling partners, is the ideal way to synthesize biaryls. This letter reports a palladium-catalyzed regioselective oxidative arylation of furan-2-carbonyl compounds with simple arenes to 5-arylfuran-2-carbonyls. The key for the high regioselectivity is the use of F+ oxidants. The reaction is proposed to proceed through a Pd(II)-Pd(IV) catalytic cycle, wherein the substrates are activated by an electrophilic palladation mechanism, supported by preliminary mechanistic evidence.