Direct C—H Bond Activation of Benzoxazole and Benzothiazole with Aryl Bromides Catalyzed by Palladium(II)‐N‐heterocyclic Carbene Complexes

Herein, we report that a series of novel palladium(II)‐NHC complexes (NHC=N‐heterocyclic carbene) were synthesized. The structures of all novel complexes were characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, FT‐IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis techniques. These palladium(II)‐NHC complexes were tested as efficient catalysts in the direct C—H bond activation of benzoxazole and benzothiazole with aryl bromides in the presence of 1 mol% catalyst loading at 150 °C for 4 h. Under the given conditions, various aryl bromides were successfully applied as the arylating reagents to achieve the 2‐arylbenzoxazoles and 2‐arylbenzothiazoles in acceptable to high yields.