A dry 50 mL flask was charged with 3-bromo-5-[(4-fluorophenyl)methyl]-2-pyridinecarbonitrile (55.3 mg, 0.190 mmol), cesium carbonate (87 mg, 0.266 mmol), palladium acetate (2.1 mg, 0.0095 mmol), rac-BINAP (8.9 mg, 0.0143 mmol), 4-(methyloxy)aniline (28 mg, 0.228 mmol) and toluene (5 mL). The mixture was refluxed for 5 hours, cooled to ambient temperature, filtered through Celite eluting with dichloromethane, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by silica gel chromatography (0-100% ethyl acetate/hexanes gradient elution) gave 5-[(4-fluorophenyl)methyl]-3-{[4-(methyloxy)phenyl]amino}-2-pyridinecarbonitrile (52.2 mg, 83% yield) as a white solid. 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 7.88 (s, 1 H), 7.07-7.02 (m, 4 H), 6.98-6.88 (m, 5 H), 6.21 (br s, 1 H), 3.82 (s, 2 H); MS m/z 334 (M+1).
