Copper Oxide Nanoparticle-Catalyzed Coupling of Diaryl Diselenide with Aryl Halides under Ligand-Free Conditions

A new, efficient and ligand-free cross-coupling reaction of aryl halides and diaryl diselenides using a catalytic amount of nanocrystalline CuO as a recyclable catalyst with KOH as the base in DMSO at 110 degrees C is reported. This protocol has been utilized for the synthesis of a variety of aryl selenides in excellent yields from the readily available aryl halides and diaryl diselenides.