N-Heterocyclic carbene–palladium(ii)–1-methylimidazole complex-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of benzyl carbamates with arylboronic acids

Abstract

The Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of benzyl carbamates with arylboronic acids was achieved in an environmentally benign medium. Using water as the sole solvent, such transformation took place very well to give the desired diarylmethane derivatives in good to almost quantitative yields in the presence of a well-defined NHC–Pd(II)–Im complex under mild conditions. It is worth noting here that this is the first example of benzyl carbamates used in coupling reaction, thus affording a new method for the formation of diarylmethanes by palladium-catalyzed C–O bond activation.