α-Arylation of Ketimines with Aryl Sulfides at a Low Palladium Catalyst Loading

Instead of using aryl halides, aryl sulfides, typically poisonous to transition-metal catalysts, were found to serve as aryl electrophiles in the catalytic -arylation of ketimines, a class of carbonyl derivatives. Low catalyst loadings (down to 0.5mol%) of a palladium-NHC complex are sufficient for efficient arylation. -Arylated ketimine products are useful for the synthesis of various azaarenes, including 2,3-diarylpyrroles, an indole, and pyrrolediones.