Cross-Coupling of Aryl Trifluoromethyl Sulfones with Arylboronates by Cooperative Palladium/Rhodium Catalysis

The Suzuki–Miyaura arylation of aryl trifluoromethyl sulfones via C–SO2 bond cleavage has been developed by means of cooperative palladium/rhodium catalysis. A series of aryl trifluoromethyl sulfones and arylboronic acid neopentylglycol esters are converted to the corresponding biaryls. Mechanistic investigations suggest that (1) the rhodium catalyst mediates the transfer of the aryl ring from arylboronate to palladium, resulting in the acceleration of the transmetalation step, and (2) the C–C bond-forming reductive elimination step is the turnover-limiting step.