A general and long-lived catalyst for the palladium-catalyzed coupling of aryl halides with thiols.

A general catalytic system for the coupling of aryl halides and sulfonates with thiols based on the use of the CyPF-t-Bu ligand (1) is reported. The reactions catalyzed by complexes of 1 occur in excellent yields with broad scope and exhibit extraordinary turnover numbers and high tolerance of functional groups. Turnover numbers usually exceed those of previous catalysts by 2 or 3 orders of magnitude. In addition, the reactions of aryl tosylates with alkane thiols to form aryl sulfides are reported for the first time. Finally, the synthesis of a diarylsulfide from two bromoarenes was accomplished using a hydrogen sulfide surrogate.