Abstract
The reaction outcome of the palladium-catalyzed C–H arylation of 3-(hydroxymethyl)furan
was investigated. The hydroxymethyl group at the C3 position of the furan proved to
be a powerful directing group for controlling regioselective direct arylation at the
C2 position, while the C5-position and the hydroxymethyl function of the furan ring
remained unaffected. The reaction tolerates a very wide variety of electron-poor or
rich aryl bromides, bearing substituents at the para- or meta-positions, as well as heteroaryl bromides. It should be noted that, for this coupling
reaction, an air-stable palladium catalyst and an inexpensive base were used. Using
an excess of specific aryl bromides, 3-(hydroxymethyl)furan can also be diarylated
at positions 2 and 5.
Key words
arylation - C–H bond functionalization - C–C bond formation - furans - homogeneous
catalysis - palladium