Under inert gas protection, 2-methylphenylsulfonylhydrazine (1.1 mmol), benzonitrile (1.0 mmol), palladium catalyst (2 mol%), and biquinoline (bq, 3 mol%) were dispersed in an organic solvent (2 mL), and then H2O (2 mmol) was added. The mixture was heated to 80 °C and reacted for 6 hours. The reaction solution was then extracted three times with Et2O (5 mL). The organic phases were combined, and the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure. The crude product was subjected to column chromatography (300-400 mesh) using a mixture of petroleum ether and ethyl acetate as the eluent to obtain the target product, 2-methylbenzophenone.
