Evolution of a Fourth Generation Catalyst for the Amination and Thioetherification of Aryl Halides

Many active pharmaceuticals, herbicides, conducting polymers, and components of organic light-emitting diodes contain arylamines. For many years, this class of compound was prepared via classical methods, such as nitration, reduction and reductive alkylation, copper-mediated chemistry at high temperatures, addition to benzyne intermediates, or direct nucleophilic substitution on particularly electron-poor aromatic or heteroaromatic halides. However, during the past decade, palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions of amines with aryl halides have largely supplanted these earlier methods. Successive generations of catalysts have gradually improved the scope and efficiency of the palladium-catalyzed reaction. This…