Synthesis of Substituted Cyclopropanecarboxylates via Room Temperature Palladium-Catalyzed α-Arylation of Reformatsky Reagents

The room temperature palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of aromatic and heteroaromatic halides with Reformatsky reagents derived from 1-bromocyclopropanecarboxylates provides an exceptionally mild method for enolate alpha-arylation. The method is tolerant of a wide range of functionalities and dramatically shortens many of the existing routes to access widely used 1,1-disubstituted cyclopropanecarboxylate derivatives.