4-Methoxycarbonylphenylboronic acid (0.039 g), 3-bromonaphthalene-1-carbonitrile (0.05 g), tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium (0.012 g) and cesium carbonate (0.11 g) were suspended in a mixed solvent of N,N-dimethylformamide (3 mL) and water (1 mL), and the resulting mixture was stirred at 150° C. for 40 minutes using microwave reactor (Biotage). The reaction mixture was poured into water, and the resulting mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was concentrated under reduced pressure, and the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel (eluent: n-hexane/ethyl acetate=100/0-66/34) to give 4-(4-cyanonaphthalene-2-yl)benzoic acid methyl ester (0.025 g).
