A mixture of compound ethyl 1-(3-bromo-5-chloro-4-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)phenyl)cyclobutanecarboxylate (500 mg, 1.2 mmol), 4-methyl phenylboronic acid (0.237 g, 1.68 mmol), Palladium Tetrakis(triphenylphosphine) (0.134 g, 0.116 mmol), Cesium fluoride (0.354 g, 2.23 mmol) in DME (30 ml) was stirred for overnight at 100° C. After completion of the reaction, the precipitate was removed by filtration. The filtrate was diluted with water and extracted with ethyl acetate (2×100 mL). The combined organic layers were washed with water, brine, dried over Na2SO4, filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure. The crude material was purified by column chromatography to yield ethyl 1-(5-chloro-4′-methyl-6-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)biphenyl-3-yl)cyclobutanecarboxylate (325 mg) as thick oil.
