The Chan-Evans-Lam N-Arylation of 2-Imidazolines

N-Arylation of 2-imidazolines with arylboronic acids promoted by copper(II) acetate in DMSO provides an attractive alternative to the earlier reported transition metal-catalyzed approaches employing (hetero)aryl halides as it taps into the vast reagent space of commercially available boronic acids and proceeds at ambient temperature. Many of the resulting compounds are distinctly lead-like, thus positioning the method developed well within the toolbox of lead-oriented synthesis.