Cross-Coupling of Non-activated Chloroalkanes with Aryl Grignard Reagents in the Presence of Iron/N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalysts

An efficient and high-yielding cross-coupling reaction of various primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl chlorides with aryl Grignard reagents was achieved by using catalytic amounts of N-heterocyclic carbene ligands and iron salts. This reaction is a simple and efficient arylation method having applicability to a wide range of industrially abundant chloroalkanes, including polychloroalkanes, which are challenging substrates under conventional cross-coupling conditions.