Discovery and synthesis of novel phosphine-based ligands for aryl aminations

Three families of ligands were prepared for use in Pd-catalyzed aryl aminations and possibly other Pd-catalyzed reactions. The first series is derived from diarylsulfones, the second from trityl imidazole, and the third from 2-bromobenzophenone. While these ligands were not very general in terms of substrate scope, they do work fairly well under certain specific conditions. Additionally, the preparation of these ligands is amenable to bulk synthesis.