,'-Dimethylurea as an efficient ligand for the synthesis of pharma-relevant motifs through Chan-Lam cross-coupling strategy.

,'-Dimethylurea (DMU) is introduced as a ligand to aid the Chan-Lam -arylation of primary amides, amines, and 3-aminophenols with arylboronic acids and its ester derivative as the arylating associate. The developed methodology is catalyzed by Cu and its complexation with DMU brings about efficient synthesis of -arylated anilines, 3-aminophenols, and primary amides in moderate to good yields (50-90%). The [Cu(OAc)(DMU)] complex is synthesized and characterized by single crystal structure elucidation.