Dirhodium(II)‐Catalyzed Cross‐Coupling Reactions of Aryl Aldehydes with Arylboronic Acids in Water.

In this report, dirhodium(II) catalysts with axial phosphanes ligands were employed to catalyze cross-coupling reactions of aromatic aldehydes with arylboronic acids to generate ketones in neat water. The overall reaction is proposed to occur through a cascade process involving the dirhodium-catalyzed addition of boronic acids to aldehydes followed by the dehydrogenative oxidation of alcohols.