Wiley, Chemistry - A European Journal, 43(17), p. 11991-11993, 2011
Full text: Download
Competing for electrophiles: The elusive iron-catalyzed CC coupling reaction was investigated and analyzed by a Hammett study of the nucleophilic partner. This required finding conditions in which the iron catalyst is stable in the presence of an excess of the Grignard reagent. The selectivity-determining step seems to be the transmetalation, occurring either before or after the oxidative addition step (see scheme).