The invention relates to a method for the preparation of 2-aminobiphenyls, key intermediates in the preparation of compounds of interest in the agrochemical industry. The process comprises reacting an ortho-substituted aniline and a phenylboro derivative in the presence of a base and a palladium catalyst, said palladium catalyst comprising a palladium source and a biphenyl phosphine ligand of formula (III) or a salt thereof.

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Carbon-carbon bond forming reactions are the cornerstone of organic chemistry. A new class of ligands was developed for transition metal catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. These phosphine-urea ligands incorporate a urea subunit into the backbone of the ligand, which is designed to bind to the organometallic coupling partner and simultaneously facilitate and direct transmetalation of the nucleophile. Synthetic routes were designed and executed to synthesize phosphine-urea ligands. These ligands catalyze a wide variety of cross-coupling reactions including Suzuki, Negishi, and Buchwald-Hartwig cross-couplings. Aryl-aryl, alkyl-aryl, and alkyl-alkyl CC cross-couplings are performed successfully with these ligands. In addition, specific chiral phosphine-urea ligands catalyze Negishi cross-couplings enantioselectively from a racemic alkylzinc nucleophile.

The disclosure is directed to: (a) phosphacycle ligands; (b) catalyst compositions comprising phosphacycle ligands; and (c) methods of using such phosphacycle ligands and catalyst compositions in bond forming reactions.