A mixture of methyl 5-bromo-2-(methoxymethyl)-3-furancarboxylate (2.5 g), 4-fluoro-2-methylphenylboronic acid (1.9 g), tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(0) (0.6 g), 2N aqueous sodium carbonate solution (12 mL) and 1,2-dimethoxyethane (20 mL) was stirred under reflux overnight under an argon atmosphere. The reaction mixture was poured into water, and the mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with saturated brine, and dried over magnesium sulfate. The solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by silica gel chromatography (0% ethyl acetate/hexane to 20% ethyl acetate/hexane) to give the title compound (2.6 g, 92%) as an oil.
