Nickel-Catalyzed One-Pot Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-Coupling of Phenols and Arylboronic Acids Mediated by N,N-Ditosylaniline

An efficient method for the construction of two distinct C-aryl-C-aryl bonds through the Ni-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of phenols with arylboronic acids has been developed. This reaction proceeds through the in situ tosylation of phenols by using N,N-ditosylaniline as the sulfonylating reagent, which is highly active, markedly stable, and easily prepared. The scope with respect to the coupling partners-phenols and boronic acids - is broad, and sensitive functional groups are tolerated. Phenols, especially those containing an unprotected amino group, which are generally problematic for coupling under conventional one-pot conditions, are also viable substrates in this transformation.