Recent developments of biaryl synthesis via cross-coupling reactions of areneboronic acid derivatives

Carbon-carbon bond formation reactions employing organoboron compounds and organic electrophiles have been recently recognized as powerful tools for the construction of new organic compounds. Among such reactions, aromatic-aromatic (or heteroaromatic) couplings between aromatic boronic acids or esters and aromatic electrophiles providing symmetrical and unsymmetrical biaryls selectively in high yields have been used most frequently. The importance of biaryl units as components of many kinds of compounds, pharmaceuticals, herbicides, and natural products, as well as engineering materials, such as conducting polymers, molecular wires, and liquid crystals has attracted enormous interest from the chemical community. In this article such applications reported during 2001-2002 will be discussed.