Palladium-catalyzed amination of aryl nonaflates

The first detailed study of the palladium-catalyzed amination of aryl nonaflates is reported. Use of ligands 2-4 and 6 allows for the catalytic amination of electron-rich and -neutral aryl nonaflates with both primary and secondary amines. With use of Xantphos 5, the catalytic amination of a variety of functionalized aryl nonaflates resulted in excellent yields of anilines; even 2-carboxymethyl aryl nonaflate is effectively coupled with a primary alkylamine. Moderate yields were obtained when coupling halo-aryl nonaflates with a variety of amines, where in most cases the aryl nonaflate reacted in preference to the aryl halide. Overall, aryl nonaflates are an effective alternative to triflates in palladium-catalyzed C-N bond-forming processes due to their increased stability under the reaction conditions.