Gold-catalyzed direct arylation.

Biaryls (two directly connected aromatic rings, Ar(1)-Ar(2)) are common motifs in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and organic materials. Current methods for establishing the Ar(1)-Ar(2) bond are dominated by the cross-coupling of aryl halides (Ar(1)-X) with aryl metallics (Ar(2)-M). We report that, in the presence of 1 to 2 mole percent of a gold catalyst and a mild oxidant, a wide range of arenes (Ar(1)-H) undergo site-selective arylation by arylsilanes (Ar(2)-SiMe(3)) to generate biaryls (Ar(1)-Ar(2)), with little or no homocoupling (Ar(1)-Ar(1)/Ar(2)-Ar(2)). Catalysis proceeds at room temperature and tolerates a broad range of functional groups, including those incompatible with cross-coupling. These features expedite biaryl preparation, as demonstrated by synthesis of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory diflunisal.