Facile access to sterically hindered aryl ketones via carbonylative cross-coupling: application to the total synthesis of luteolin

A general and mild protocol for achieving the carbonylative cross-coupling of sterically hindered, ortho-disubstituted aryl ketones is reported. The commercially available PEPPSI-IPr catalyst is shown to efficiently promote the carbonylative cross-coupling of hindered ortho-disubstituted aryl iodides to give diaryl ketones; traditional phosphine catalysts are less effective. Carbonylative Suzuki-Miyaura cross-couplings provide a diverse array of biaryl ketones in good to excellent yields. The same catalyst is also shown to catalyze a carbonylative Negishi cross-coupling reaction, utilizing a variety of alkynyl-zinc reagents to give the corresponding alkynyl aryl ketones. Application of this new methodology to the synthesis of the natural product luteolin is reported.