One-pot synthesis of unsymmetrical triarylamines from aniline precursors

The "one-pot" synthesis of triarylamines from an aniline and two different aryl halides is described. A catalytic system composed of Pd-2(dba)(3)/P(t-Bu)(2)-o-biphenyl (1) is used to prepare a variety of triarylamines in a single flask by the coupling of an aniline with an aryl bromide and aryl chloride. The synthesis of triarylamines containing a heterocyclic aryl group is also described by employing a one-flask, two-step method. These methods can be used to synthesize both discrete triarylamines and a triarylamine library.