Synthesis of diaryl thioethers from aryl halides and potassium thiocyanate

An efficient palladium catalyst was synthesized using nicotine, benzyl chloride and palladium chloride. The structure of this catalyst was characterized and it was then used for the synthesis of diaryl sufides. A variety of diaryl thioethers were synthesized under relatively mild reaction conditions. This protocol avoids foul‐smelling thiols via cross‐coupling of aryl halides with potassium thiocyanate and all substrates give the corresponding products in good to excellent yields in the presence of low amounts of the catalyst. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. An efficient palladium catalyst was used for the synthesis of wide range of diaryl thioethers under relatively mild reaction conditions via cross‐coupling of aryl halides with potassium thiocyanate.