Recent Progress in Diaryl Ether Synthesis

Diaryl ethers form an important class of organic compounds, both in life sciences and in the polymer industry. In general, diaryl ethers can be synthesized by means of copper-catalyzed Ullmann diaryl ether coupling, palladium-catalysed Buchwald-Hartwig reaction, nucleophilic aromatic substitution, arylboronic acid diaryl ether coupling, oxidative coupling, and nucleophilic aromatic addition to metal-arene complexes. This review covers the progress in diaryl ether synthesis since 1999, with literature coverage through September 2005.