An efficient procedure for palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions of (hetero)aryl bromides and chlorides with primary aliphatic alcohols has been developed. Key to the success is the synthesis and exploitation of the novel bulky di-1-adamantyl-substituted bipyrazolylphosphine ligand L6. Reaction of aryl halides including activated, nonactivated, and (hetero)aryl bromides as well as aryl chlorides with primary alcohols gave the corresponding alkyl aryl ethers in high yield. Noteworthy, functionalizations of primary alcohols in the presence of secondary and tertiary alcohols proceed with excellent regioselectivity.

Selectively esterified: Primary alcohols react with dioxygen as a benign oxidant in a palladium‐catalyzed oxidative esterification (see scheme). The corresponding aldehydes and esters are formed highly selectively depending on the catalyst system. The reactions take place in the presence of commercially available ligands without the need for additional organic hydrogen acceptors.

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Synthesis of anisole: Aryl and heteroaryl halides undergo selective CO cross‐coupling reactions with methanol in the presence of a Pd(OAc)2/L3 catalyst system. The corresponding ethers were obtained under mild conditions in good yields. The catalytic methodology was also used for the synthesis of labeled deuterated anisoles in good yields (see scheme).

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An efficient procedure for the oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones, respectively, with molecular oxygen under ambient conditions has been achieved. By applying catalytic amounts of Pd(OAc)2 in the presence of tertiary phosphine oxides (O=PR3) as ligands, a variety of substrates are selectively oxidized without formation of ester byproducts. Spectroscopic investigations and DFT calculations suggest stabilization of the active palladium(II) catalyst by phosphine oxide ligands.

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