The direct synthesis of N-arylated carbazoles through a palladium-catalyzed amination of cyclic iodonium salts with anilines is described. In particular, electron-poor aniline derivatives reacted smoothly with only 5 mol % of Pd(OAc)2 as catalyst to give the desired products in up to 71% yield. Furthermore, the reactivity of cyclic iodonium salts is compared with the reactivity of the corresponding cyclic bromonium analogues.
Keywords: amination; carbazoles; hypervalent; iodine; iodonium salts.