Efficient, protection-free Suzuki–Miyaura synthesis of ortho-biphenyltetrazoles

We describe an efficient protocol for the Suzuki–Miyaura synthesis of ortho-biphenyltetrazoles from non-protected 2-bromophenyltetrazole and arylboronic acids. The optimised conditions were achieved using [1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene]dichloropalladium(II) as catalyst and Na2CO3 as base. A panel of structurally diverse arylboronic acids was used to demonstrate the scope of the coupling procedure.