Ethyl 2-(3-iodophenyl)acetate (0.500 g, 1.72 mmol), 4-bromo-3-nitrobenzotrifluoride (1.86 g, 6.89 mmol commercially available), tetrabutylammonium chloride (0.527 g, 1.90 mmol), i-Pr2NEt (0.33 mL, 1.90 mmol) and Pd(OAc)2 (0.039 g, 0.17 mmol) were combined neat in a sealed vial and heated at 130° C. for 65 h. The cooled reaction mixture was applied directly to silica gel and eluted with 25% EtOAc/hexanes to provide 2′-nitro-4′-(trifluoromethyl)-[1,1′-biphenyl]-3-acetic acid ethyl ester (0.107 g, 17% yield). MS (ESI) m/z: 354.0 (M+H+).
