Scheme 1.

Pd-catalyzed arylation of methanol^a

^a Reaction conditions: (Het)ArX (1 mmol), MeOH (5 mmol), NaO^tBu (1.4 mmol), 3 (1 mol %), L2 (1 mol %), 1,4-dioxane (2 mL, 0.50 M); isolated yields, average of two runs. ^b 3 (2 mol %), L2 (2 mol %). ^c Cs₂CO₃ (1.5 equiv). ^{d 1}H NMR yield of crude product. ^e An inseparable mixture of ether product and heteroarene (HetArH, 2-4%) was isolated.