Palladium-catalyzed synthesis of 2-substituted benzothiazoles via a C-H functionalization/intramolecular C-S bond formation process.

Catalytic synthesis of 2-substituted benzothiazoles from thiobenzanilides was achieved in the presence of a palladium catalyst through C-H functionalization/C-S bond formation. This method features the use of a novel catalytic system consisting of 10 mol % of Pd(II), 50 mol % of Cu(I), and 2 equiv of Bu4NBr that produced variously substituted benzothiazoles in high yields with good functional group tolerance.