A mixture of tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(0) (0.30 g, 0.26×10−3 mol), 6-bromo-2-(4-dodecyloxyphenyl)benzothiazole (2.50 g, 5.27×10−3 mol), 4-nonylbenzene boronic acid (1.57 g, 6.33×10−3 mol), 2M sodium carbonate solution (25 cm3) and 1,2-dimethoxyethane (100 cm3). The reaction mixture was heated under reflux overnight. The cooled reaction mixture was extracted with dichloromethane (2×100 cm3) and the combined organic layers were washed with brine (2×100 cm3) and dried (MgSO4). After filtration the solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue was purified by column chromatography [silica gel, dichloromethane: hexane 1:1] followed by recrystallisation from ethanol to yield 2.35 g (74.5%) of the desired product.
