Rhodium(NHC)-catalyzed O -arylation of aryl bromides

Chemical equations presented. The first example of the rhodium-catalyzed O-arylation of aryl bromides is reported. While the right combination of rhodium species and N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) offered an effective catalytic system enabling the arylation to proceed, the choice of NHC was determined to be most important. The developed O-arylation protocol has a wide range of substrate scope, high functional group tolerance, and flexibility allowing a complementary route to either N- or O-arylation depending on the choice of NHC.