Zinc-mediated palladium-catalyzed formation of carbon-sulfur bonds.

A catalytic amount of zinc chloride in combination with a palladium catalyst ligated by a monodentate phosphine allows the coupling of aryl and alkyl thiols with aryl bromides in high yields. The addition of zinc chloride to a palladium catalyst system that reportedly failed to promote sulfide formation allows this once ineffective catalyst system to provide the sulfide product in good yield. This paper describes a high-yielding and general monodentate phosphine-ligated palladium catalyst for biaryl and alkyl aryl sulfide formation.