A mixture of 2-iodo-4-dimethylaminopyridine (3 g, 12 mmol), 2,4-difluorophenylboronic acid (2.3 g, 14.5 mmol) and K2CO3 (6 g, 43.5 mmol) in toluene (60 ml) and water (10 ml) were degassed with nitrogen for 15 minutes. Pd(PPh3)4 (800 mg, 0.66 mmol) was added and the resulting mixture was heated to 90° C. for 48 hours under nitrogen. After being cooled to room temperature, the aqueous phase was separated and extracted with EtOAc (3×100 ml). The combined organic fractions were washed with brine, dried over MgSO4, filtered and evaporated. To further purify the compound, the so-obtained oil was dissolved in Et2O and extracted with 10% HCl solution (3×50 ml). The combined aqueous fractions were washed with Et2O (2×100 ml) and neutralized with concentrated NaOH aqueous solution. The resulting mixture was extracted with EtOAc (4×100 ml), the combined organic fractions were washed with brine (50 ml), dried over MgSO4, filtered and evaporated to dryness. The crude compound was purified by column chromatography (SiO2, CHCl3 then CHCl3/MeOH, 97/3) to afford 2.2 g (78%) of the titled compound as slightly yellow oil, which solidified upon standing.
