Selective iron-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of Grignard reagents with enol triflates, acid chlorides, and dichloroarenes

Cheap, readily available, air stable, nontoxic, and environmentally benign iron salts such as Fe(acac)(3) are excellent precatalysts for the cross-coupling of Grignard reagents with alkenyl triflates and acid chlorides. Moreover, it is shown that dichloroarene and -heteroarene derivatives as the substrates can be selectively monoalkylated by this method. All cross-coupling reactions proceed very rapidly under notably mild conditions and turned out to be compatible with a variety of functional groups in both reaction partners. A detailed analysis of the preparative results suggests that iron-catalyzed C-C bond formations can occur via different pathways. Thus, it is likely that reactions of methylmagnesium halides involve iron-ate complexes as the active components, whereas reactions of Grignard reagents with two or more carbon atoms are effected by highly reduced iron-clusters of the formal composition [Fe(MgX)(2)](n) generated in situ. Control experiments using the ate-complex [Me4Fe]Li-2 corroborate this interpretation.