Nickel(0)-catalyzed cross-coupling of alkyl arenesulfonates with aryl Grignard reagents

The nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of neopentyl arenesulfonates with arylmagnesium bromides, involving nucleophilic aromatic substitution of alkyloxysulfonyl groups by aryl nucleophiles, take place in high yields. Optimal efficiencies are obtained by adding 3 + 2 equiv of the Grignard reagent to a mixture of dppfNiCl(2) and the sulfonate in refluxing THF. Neopentyl arenesulfonates are useful sources of the electrophilic aryl groups in these transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. Aryl sulfonates are inappropriate due to their ambident reactivity under the reaction conditions. This new cross-coupling reaction can be used for the creative elimination of alkyloxysulfonyl groups from aromatic compounds and for the preparation of unsymmetric terphenyls and oligophenyls.