Rhodium-catalyzed direct amination of arenes with nitrosobenzenes: a new route to diarylamines.

A Rh(III) -catalyzed addition of aryl CH bonds to nitrosobenzenes, followed by cleavage of the resulting hydroxylamines in situ, has been reported. Different directing groups, such as N-based heterocycles and ketoximes, can be used in this CH amination process, providing valuable diarylamines in excellent yields. Most importantly, this process provides a new method for attaching arylamine groups to aromatic rings.