Ruthenium-Catalyzed Carbonylative Coupling of Anilines with Organoboranes by the Cleavage of Neutral Aryl C–N Bond

Herein, we report the first ruthenium-catalyzed Suzuki-type carbonylative reaction of electronically neutral anilines via C­(aryl)–N bond cleavage. Without any ligand and base, diaryl ketones can be obtained in moderate to high yields by using Ru₃(CO)₁₂ as the catalyst and chelation assisted by pyridine. The pyridine ring has a significant effect on both high efficiency and high regioselectivity in the cleavage of the aryl C–N bond in anilines.