Nickel-Catalyzed Suzuki Coupling of Phenols Enabled by SuFEx of Tosyl Fluoride

A practical and efficient Suzuki coupling of phenols has been developed by using trans-NiCl(o-Tol)(PCy3)2/2PCy3 as a catalyst in the presence of tosyl fluoride as an activator. The key for the direct use of phenols lies in the compatibility of the nickel catalyst with tosyl fluoride (TsF) and its sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange (SuFEx) with CAr-OH. Water has been found to improve the one-pot process remarkably. The steric and electronic effects and the functional group compatibility of the one-pot Suzuki coupling of phenols appear to be comparable to the conventional one of pre-prepared aryl tosylates. A series of electronically and sterically various biaryls could be obtained in good to excellent yields by using 3–10 mol% loading of the nickel catalyst. The applications of this one-pot procedure in chemoselective derivatization of complex molecules have been demonstrated in 3-phenylation of estradiol and estrone.