Selective palladium-catalysed arylation of 2,6-dibromopyridine using N-heterocyclic carbene ligands

A selective palladium-catalysed arylation of 2,6-dibromopyridine has been developed by employing N-heterocyclic carbene ligands. Selective mono-arylation was performed in water/acetonitrile solvent system at ambient temperature with catalyst loading of 0.1 mol%. This reaction was also found to proceed smoothly in water although at a slightly elevated temperature of 80 °C. 2,6-Disubstituted and diversely substituted 2,6-pyridines were also obtained in high yields which will be of importance to organic and medicinal chemists.