Triarylbismuthane-iodobenzene diacetate:: One-pot system for copper-catalysed N-arylation under neutral conditions

Triarylbismuthanes react with iodobenzene diacetate in dichloromethane under mild, neutral conditions to afford triarylbismuth diacetates, which can be isolated in good yields. The reagents can also be directly used in a one-pot copper-catalysed N-arylation of anilines to give near quantitative yields of the corresponding diarylamines, except in the case of the 2-methoxyphenylbismuth derivative. N-arylation with tris(2-methoxyphenyl)bismuth diacetate was quantitative only when the reaction was performed with the pure isolated reagent. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.