A mild procedure for the oxidativeC-C cross-coupling of tertiaryanilines with phenols is described which provides the products generally in high yields and with excellent selectivity. The reaction is catalyzed by the hexadecafluorinated iron-phthalocyanine complex FePcF16 in the presence of substoichiometric amounts of methanesulfonic acid and ambient air as soleoxidant.
Cerium (IV)-mediated intermolecular direct biaryl coupling of aromatic tertiary amines and naphthol via dual C-H bond activation has been reported. The new C-C bond is formed regioselectively ortho to the amino and hydroxyl substituents under oxidative conditions to give substituted bifunctional amino naphthols. We report here the use of Ce-MCM-41 catalyst for the synthesis of these unsymmetrical biaryls via oxidative cross coupling under mild conditions. The catalyst was recovered by simple filtration and reused for several cycles with consistent activity. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.