A Class of Amide Ligands Enable Cu-Catalyzed Coupling of (Hetero)aryl Halides with Sulfinic Acid Salts under Mild Conditions

The amide derived from 4-hydroxy-l-proline and 2,6-dimethylaniline is a powerful ligand for Cu-catalyzed coupling of (hetero)aryl halides with sulfinic acid salts, allowing the formation of a wide range of (hetero)aryl sulfones from the corresponding (hetero)aryl halides at considerably low catalytic loadings. The coupling of (hetero)aryl iodides and sodium methanesulfinate proceeds at room temperature with only 0.5 mol % CuI and ligand, representing the first example for Cu-catalyzed arylation at both low catalytic loading and room temperature.