“…Based on the general utility of the Pd(OAc) 2 /NIXANT-PHOS-based catalyst in a range of reactions, 7j–u we began by investigating the benzylic C–H arylation of 2-pyridylmethyl silyl ether 1a with bromobenzene 2a using Pd(OAc) 2 (1 mol %) and NIXANTPHOS (1.5 mol %, see Table 1 for structure). Several combinations of silyl amide bases MN(SiMe 3 ) 2 (M = Li, Na, K) and solvents [toluene, 1,4-dioxane, THF, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF), cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME), and 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME)] were evaluated to identify suitable reaction conditions (Table 1, entries 1–10).…”