A Convenient Palladium-Catalyzed Carbonylative Suzuki Coupling of Aryl Halides with Formic Acid as the Carbon Monoxide Source.

A practical palladium-catalyzed carbonylative Suzuki coupling of aryl halides under carbon monoxide gas-free conditions has been developed. Here, formic acid was utilized as the carbon monoxide source for the first time with acetic anhydride as the additive. A variety of diarylketones were produced in moderate to excellent yields from the corresponding aryl halides and arylboronic acids.