Palladium(II)-Catalyzed, Heteroatom-Directed, Regioselective C-H Nitration of Anilines Using Pyrimidine as a Removable Directing Group

A new palladium-catalyzed, heteroatom-directed strategy for C-H nitration of anilines is described. This C-H functionalization reaction is highly ortho-selective and results in very good yields. The highlight of the work is the use of pyrimidine as the removable directing group. This approach constitutes one of the rare methods of ortho-nitration of anilines, a reaction that is normally very difficult to achieve via traditional approaches.