N,N,N′,N′-Tetramethylethylenediamine (0.667 mL, 4.42 mmol), zinc cyanide (1.46 g, 12.4 mmol), tris(dibenzylideneacetone)dipalladium(0) (54.05 mg, 0.059 mmol) and (9,9-dimethyl-9H-xanthene-4,5-diyl)bis(diphenylphosphine) (124.3 mg, 0.215 mmol) was added successively to a solution of 1-(4-bromo-3-fluorophenyl)ethanone (4.34 g, 20.0 mmol) in N,N-dimethylformamide (15 mL) in a microwave tube. The tube was sealed and degassed three times, and heated to 160° C. under microwave irradiation with a 240 s hold time, and 300 Watt maximum power input. After cooling, the reaction mixture was filtered through a pad of Celite with a thin layer of silica gel in the middle using dichloromethane as the eluant. The combined filtrates were concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by chromatography on silica gel with ethyl acetate in hexanes (0-40%) to give the desired product. (3.20 g, 98.1%).
