Abstract A novel palladium-catalyzed coupling reaction of an aryl methyl ketone with two molecules of an aryl halide to yield symmetric diarylmethanes is described. In the facile one- pot reaction, the aryl methyl ketone acts as a formal methylene donor. The experimental facts, including TLC monitoring, speculated intermediates as the raw materials, analysis of the cesium benzoate coproduct by ex situ IR spectroscopy, and the cross-coupling ...
