Iron-Ligand Catalysts for Aryl-Alkyl Cross-Coupling Reactions

Significance

This is one of the first publications concerning a new and very promising direction in the field of new C-C bond formation reac­tions - the search for appropriate ligands for iron- and cobalt-catalyzed cross-coupling. Iron-catalyzed cross-coupling recently attracts much attention due to the low price and toxicity of iron. So far, however, this method is proven successful only for a limited range of substrates, mostly for sp²-sp³ coupling processes. The finding of suitable ligands may broaden the applicability of this promising cross-coupling. Some tested ligands were shown to improve the yields of the reaction significantly as well as suppress undesirable side reactions.