Abstract
This chapter surveys C(aryl)--O and C(aryl)--S bond-forming reactions via copper-catalyzed couplings of oxygen (water, alcohols, phenols) and sulfur (thiols, thiophenols) nucleophiles with aryl halides. Among the increasing number of publications related to this topic, the chapter focuses mainly on the most significant results and important breakthroughs that have been reported in the last 10 years or so. Its scope highlights the most efficient homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic systems based on the association of a copper source with or without an original ligand. The reaction of aliphatic alcohols with aryl halides mediated by copper (Ullmann condensation) is clearly a classical transformation that has been known for a long time for the synthesis of alkyl aryl ethers. The diaryl ether linkage constitutes an important structural motif that can be found in a variety of agrochemicals, as well as in important molecules from the pharmaceutical industry and polymer sciences.