Iron(II) bipyridine complexes for the cross-coupling reaction of bromocyclohexane with phenylmagnesium bromide

Three known iron(II) complexes bearing a bipyridine ligand, [FeCl2(bpy)(2)] (1), [FeCl2(bpy)](2) (2) and [FeCl2(dmbpy)] (3) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine and dmbpy = 6,6'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine) were employed for the cross-coupling reaction of bromocyclohexane (4) with phenylmagnesium bromide (5). These complexes catalyzed the cross-coupling reaction. Among the three catalysts, complex 2 acted as an effective catalyst to afford the cross-coupled product phenylcyclohexane (6) in 92% yield. The X-ray crystal structure analyses of 2 and 3 were demonstrated. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.