Nickel-Catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling of Heteroaryl Ethers with Arylboronic Acids

Nickel-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of heteroaryl ethers with arylboronic acids was described. Selective activation of the phenol C–O bonds was achieved by converting them into the corresponding aryl 2,4-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazine-6-yl ethers, in which aryl C–O bond could be selectively cleaved with inexpensive, air-stable NiCl2(dppf) as a catalyst. Coupling of these readily accessible heteroaryl ethers proved tolerant of extensive functional groups.