Ligand-Accelerated Pd-Catalyzed Ketone γ-Arylation via C-C Cleavage with Aryl Chlorides

A highly efficient Pd-catalyzed arylative ring expansion of cyclobutanols via C-C bond cleavage is presented. The method allows the coupling of aryl chlorides at low catalyst loadings with a wide range of functional groups and substitution patterns, thus constituting a straightforward alternative for preparing rather elusive gamma-arylated ketones.