In situ formation and reaction of 2-pyridylboronic esters

2-Pyridylboronic esters were generated by cross-coupling 2-bromopyridines with bis(pinacolato)diboron in the presence of a base and palladium catalyst. The boronic esters reacted in situ with unreacted 2-bromopyridines to afford high yields of 2,2′-bipyridines as homocoupled products. Depending upon the reaction conditions, varying amounts of protodeboronated products were also observed. An attempted cross-coupling between two different 2-bromopyridines produced a nearly statistical mixture of homo- and cross-coupled products.