Ligand-controlled Iron-catalyzed Cross Coupling of Benzylic Chlorides with Aryl Grignard Reagents

The selective cross coupling of benzylic chlorides with aryl Grignard reagents has been achieved by using catalytic amounts of FeCl2 and electronically tuned ortho-phenylenebisphosphine ligands. Although electron-deficient ligands promoted the reductive homocoupling of benzylic halides, electron-rich ligands effectively promoted the desired cross-coupling reaction to afford the corresponding diarylmethanes in good to excellent yields.