An Efficient Novel Ligand for Copper-Catalyzed Formation of Diaryl Ethers

1-Phenylbutane-1,3-dione was found to be an efficient novel ligand for copper-catalyzed formation of diaryl ethers. With this ligand methyl 4-iodobenzoate reacted with various phenols to give the corresponding diaryl ethers with reasonable yields and efficiency. The optimized reaction was carried out at 100 °C using 1,4-dioxane as solvent, Cs2CO3 as base, CuI as the catalyst and 1-phenylbutane-1,3-dione as the ligand.