Unified Protocol for Fe-Based Catalyzed Biaryl Cross-Couplings between Various Aryl Electrophiles and Aryl Grignard Reagents

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/acs.joc.9b00151

The combination of commonly used FeCl₃/SIPr with Ti(OEt)₄/PhOM enabled a highly general iron-based catalyst system, which could efficiently catalyze the biaryl coupling reaction between various electrophiles (I, Br, Cl, OTs, OCONMe₂, OSO₂NMe₂) and common or functionalized aryl Grignard reagents with high functional group tolerance. Selective couplings of aryl iodides and bromides over the corresponding oxygen-based electrophiles have been achieved, and thus a terphenyl acid intermediate for anidulafungin was conveniently synthesized via an orthogonal coupling strategy.

Full text of DOI:10.1021/acs.joc.9b00151

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Article
Unified Protocol for Fe-Based Catalyzed Biaryl Cross Couplings
between Various Aryl Electrophiles and Aryl Grignard Reagents
Lei Wang, Yi-Ming Wei, Yan Zhao, and Xin-Fang Duan
J. Org. Chem., Just Accepted Manuscript • Publication Date (Web): 26 Mar 2019
Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on March 26, 2019
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The Journal of Organic Chemistry
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Unified Protocol for Fe-Based Catalyzed Biaryl Cross
Couplings between Various Aryl Electrophiles and Aryl
Grignard Reagents
Lei Wang+, Yi-Ming Wei+, Yan Zhao, and Xin-Fang Duan*
College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
xinfangduan@vip.163.com
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RECEIVED DATE (to be automatically inserted after your manuscript is accepted if required
according to the journal that you are submitting your paper to)
(FG)ArX
1s
t c
T
s
O
-
C
Ti(OEt)4
PhOM
FeCl3
SIPr
o
u
a
i
v
p
l
i
n
g
+
g
n
i
l
p
(FG)ArAr'(FG)
d
2n
v
i
a
u
o
c
C
-
B
r
(FG)Ar'MgBr
O
OC5H11
intermediate for anidulafungin
FG = COOEt, CN, COCH3, N=CHPh, CONHMe, CONMe2,
SO2NMe2, SO2OEt, etc.
X = I, Br, Cl, OTs, OSO2NMe2, OCONMe2
HO
ABSTRACT. The combination of commonly used FeCl3/SIPr with Ti(OEt)4/PhOM enabled a highly
general iron-based catalyst system which could efficiently catalyze the biaryl coupling reaction between
various electrophiles (I, Br, Cl, OTs, OCONMe2, OSO2NMe2) and common or functionalized aryl
Grignard reagents with high functional group tolerance. Selective couplings of aryl iodides and
bromides over the corresponding oxygen-based electrophiles have been achieved, and thus a terphenyl
acid intermediate for anidulafungin was conveniently synthesized via an orthogonal coupling strategy.
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1. INTRODUCTION
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Iron is an ideal candidate for transition metal catalysts of various cross-couplings by virtue of its high
abundance, low price and toxicity.1 Although notable progresses have been made in Fe-catalyzed cross-
couplings of Grignard reagents with various electrophiles between C(sp2) and C(sp3) centers,2,3 yet there
is still a big gap between the corresponding iron-catalyzed biaryl couplings and the Pd or Ni-catalyzed
ones.4,5 One main limitation which accounts for the gap is the fact that iron-catalyzed functional group
tolerant biaryl couplings have been rather underdeveloped. Because of the inherent intolerance to
functional group of Grignard reagents, Fe-catalyzed biaryl couplings of functionalized aryl halides with
(functionalized) Grignard reagents remains a big challenge.5 In contrast, Pd or Ni-catalyzed functional
group tolerant biaryl couplings of (functionalized) Grignard reagents have made some progress due to
their high catalytic activity based on well-designed ligands.6,7 In addition to the coupling reactions of
Grignard reagents, Pd or Ni catalyzed functional group tolerant biaryl couplings of other organometallic
reagents such as boron (Suzuki coupling), zinc reagents (Negishi coupling) and etc. have been well
developed;4 however, the successful examples of Fe-catalyzed biaryl Suzuki or Negishi couplings are
very rare. Only one Fe-catalyzed biaryl Negishi coupling reaction of 2-halopyridines or pyrimidines has
been reported so far.8 Meanwhile, until very recently, only one Fe-catalyzed substrate-directed (N-
pyrrole 2-chlorobenzamides) biaryl Suzuki coupling reaction has been documented.9
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Two main types of iron catalysts have been reported for the biaryl couplings of aryl Grignard
reagents (Scheme 1A).5,10 Iron salts in the presence of NMP or isoquinoline were mainly applicable to
2-(pseudo) halides of electron-deficient N-heteroarenes (pyridines or quinolones)10a,e,f and
chlorostyrene.10d Instead, salts/SIPr could efficiently catalyze the biaryl couplings of common aryl
chlorides or pseudohalides.10b,c,g,h For these two iron catalysts, aryl bromides and iodides (except 2-
halopyridines or analogues10a,e,f,11) were incompatible substrates due to dehalogenation and consequent
homocoupling side reactions.9,10b,c,12 Thus, only a limited number of unfunctionalized aryl chlorides or
pseudohalides were suited to the Fe-catalyzed biaryl cross couplings; this is another reason for the large
gap between Fe catalysis and Pd or Ni catalysis in this area.
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The Journal of Organic Chemistry
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A. Iron-catalyzed birayl couplings in the literatures
R
N
N
R
R
Cl
X
Cl(OTs)
iron salts/SIPr
iron salts with NMP
or isoquinoline
8
9
B. Our recently reported iron-catalyzed biaryl couplings
functional group compability
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N
(R)FG
X = I, Br; high yields
X
X = Cl; low to moderate yields
FeCl3/Ti(OEt)4/PhOM
X = OTs,etc.; low yields
C. The iron-catalyzed biaryl couplings in this work
functional group compability
N
(R)FG
X = I, Br, Cl, OTs, OCONMe2,
OSO2NMe2, etc.
X
FeCl3/SIPr
Ti(OEt)4/PhOM
selectivity between electrophiles
Scheme 1.Variousiron-catalyzed biaryl couplings
Recently, we have reported a phenolate mediated Fe/Ti cocatalyzed biaryl coupling reaction,13 in
which a variety of important functional groups in either coupling partner could be well tolerated in the
absence of NHC or phosphine ligands, and various (functionalized) aryl halides could undergo the
coupling reaction without dehalogenation (Scheme 1B). However, the reaction could not be applied to
oxygen-based electrophiles such as ArOTs and etc.14 Besides, the reactions of chlorides only gave low
to acceptable yields. Herein, we report a highly general Fe/Ti cocatalyst system that can efficiently
catalyze the biaryl couplings between various arylhalides as well as oxygen-based electrophiles and aryl
Grignard reagents with high functional group tolerance (Scheme 1C). Since the present reaction could
accommodate various aryl electrophiles and tolerate a variety of important functional groups, we expect
that it will become a highly general protocol for Fe-based catalyzed biaryl couplings.
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2. RESULTS AND DISSCUSSION
Our research started with an investigation of the phenolate mediated Fe/Ti cocatalyzed reaction of 4-
MeOC6H4X (1a) with PhMgBr (2a), and the results were outlined in Table 1. It could be seen that in the
absence of NHC, the coupling of 4-MeOC6H4Cl only gave 10% yield of the desired product
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Table 1. Reaction condition optimizationa
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8
FeCl3 (10 mol %)
TMEDA (40 mol %)
Ti(OEt)4 (20 mol %)
OCH3
Ph
H3CO
+
PhMgBr
ArOMgX (m mol %)
NHC HX (n mol %)
9
1a
2a
3a
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X
entry
X
m
n
NHC
ArO
PhO
yield
[%]
10
51
45
45
80
53
78
1
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7
8
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
20
10
10
10
0
0
0
0
-
-
-
-
p-C6H4O2
o-C6H4O2
m-C6H4O2
PhO
20 10
10
SIPrb,c
SIPr
SIPr
SIPr-1
SIMes
SIPr-2
IPr
0
--
10 10
20 10
20 10
20 10
20 10
20 10
20 10
20
20 10
20
20 10
20
20 10
20
20 10
20
p-C6H4O2
PhO
79
39
48
35
42
61
12
9
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
PhO
10
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23
STBu
TBu
-
SIPr
-
SIPr
-
SIPr
-
Cl
OTs
OTs
OSO2NMe2
OSO2NMe2
OCONMe2
OCONMe2
Br
Br
I
0
75(80)d
7
0
73(78)d
9
0
72(79)d
85
0
SIPr
-
SIPr
87
88
89
0
I
20 10
iPr
Pri
iPr
Pri
N
N
N
N
N
N
Cl
Cl
Cl
iPr
Pri
iPr
Pri
SIPr HCl
SIMes HCl
SIPr-1 HCl
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
Cl
STBu HCl
BF4
TBu BF4
BF4
Br
IPr Br
SIPr-2 BF4
o
aThe reaction was carried on 2 mmol scale at 78 C in THF/PhMe
(3:1), and 1.5 equiv of PhMgBr was charged (10 mol % NHC·HCl
was added) unless otherwise noted. bThe optimization of the
amount of NHC indicated that 5 mol % SIPr only gave a 45%
c
yield; instead 20 mol % SIPr gave a 75% yield. Below was a list
of NHC structures. The yields in brackets were obtained with 2.0
d
equiv of PhMgBr.
(entry1).13 The use of salts of benzenediol instead of PhOMgBr could raise the yields up to 51% (entries
2-4). To our delight, the combination of commonly used FeCl3/SIPr10b,c,g,h with Ti(OEt)4/PhOM could
promote the coupling in 80% yield (entry 5). In contrast, the absence of phenolate only gave 53% yield
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(entries 5-7). For the present FeCl3/SIPr/Ti(OEt)4/ArOM catalyst system, the use of p-C6H4(OMgBr)2
instead of PhOMgBr did not improve the yield of 3a. Among the tested NHC ligands (entries 8-13),
SIPr and SIPr-1 gave the best yields while the other NHCs could only result in low to moderate yields.15
Meanwhile, this catalyst could catalyze the couplings of 4-MeOC6H4OTs, 4-MeOC6H4OSO2NMe2, 4-
MeOC6H4OCONMe2 with the yields of 75%, 73% and 72% respectively, whereas in the absence of
SIPr, the corresponding yields were rather low (entries 14 vs 15; 16 vs 17 and 18 vs 19). We also found
that the increase of the amount of Grignard reagents to 2.0 equivalents could further raise the yields of
these oxygen-based electrophiles to nearly 80% without observable side reactions (entries 15, 17 and
19). It should be noted that in previously reported Fe-catalyzed biaryl couplings, iron salts/NHC used to
result in dehalogenation and consequent side homocoupling with aryl bromide and iodide
substrates.9,10b,c,12 In sharp contrast, our present catalysts could still promote the couplings of the
bromide and iodide in high yields with those side reactions being well suppressed (entries 20-23). Thus,
to best of our knowledge, the present iron-based catalyst system proves to be most general for various
electrophiles until now.
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With the optimal reaction conditions at hand, we then investigated the scope of this reaction.
Initially, various aryl electrophiles including those bearing sensitive functional groups were tested with
different common aryl Grignardreagents and the results were outlined in Scheme 2 (3a-o). In general,
various iodides and bromides could still couple well to furnish the biaryl products in high yields without
observable dehalogenation and homocoupling side reactions. Although the presence of SIPr did not
significantly affect the yields of iodides (3e and 3f), it could raise the yields of bromides by about 10%
in most cases (3c-o). The yields of the chlorides had been improved significantly under the present
conditions (3a-o). On the other hand, various oxygen-based electrophiles such as ArOTs,
ArOSO2NMe2, ArOCONMe2 could hardly undergo the biaryl cross coupling in the absence of NHC
ligands, however, they could participate in the couplings to afford the desired products in the yields
ranged from 46% to 78% (3a-o) under the catalysis of the present catalyst system. Their yields seemed
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comparable to those of chlorides. For the reactions of chlorides and oxygen-based electrophiles, the
increase of the amount
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Scheme 2. Biaryl couplings of various electrophiles with Common Grignard reagentsa
FeCl3 (10 mol %)/SIPr HCl (10 mol %)
Ti(OEt)4 (20 mol %)/PhOMgX (20 mol %)
7
8
9
Ar'
+
Ar'MgBr
1.5 equiv
2
(FG)Ar
(FG)ArX
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TMEDA (40 mol %); PhMe/THF; 78 oC
3
1
EtOOC
HN
O
O
O
O
O
3a'
3d
3b
3e
3c
I: 90%; Br: 88%
Cl: 77% (33%)b
OTs: 70%
OSO2NMe2: 68%
OCONMe2: 78%
Br: 88%
Br: 88% (76%)b
Cl: 68% (56%)b
OTs: 71%
Cl: 79% (19%)b
OTs: 71%
Br: 78% (61%)b
dI: 89% (88%)b
dBr: 82% (71%)b
dCl: 70% (53%)b
OTs: 69%; 74%c
OSO2NMe2: 66%
OCONMe2: 73%
OSO2NMe2:46%; 67%c
OCONMe2: 62%; 71%c
OSO2NMe2: 67%
OCONMe2: 78%
O
O
S
HN
O
NC
OHC
Me2NO2S
N
3i
3j
3h
O
O
Br: 88% (76%)b
Cl: 78% (65%)b
OTs: 71%
3g
S
3f
Br: 85% (75%)b
Cl: 67% (34%)b
OTs:69%
Br: 90%
eBr: 71%;(62%)b
eCl: 59% (40%)b
Cl: 80% (71%)b
dI: 84% (85%)b
dBr: 77% (65%)b
dCl: 62% (34%)b
OCONMe2: 69%
OCONMe2: 72%
O
O
O
N
N
O
S
N
3m
3o
3l
3n
Br: 73% (60%)b
Br: 90% (88%)b
Cl: 89% (80%)b
OTs: 69%
Br: 90% (85%)b
Cl: 89% (80%)b
OTs: 66%
3k
NH2
Cl: 59% (23%)b
Br: 83%
OTs: 58%; 71%c
OCONMe2: 42%; 61%c
Cl: 81% (62%)b
fBr: 81% (75%)b
fCl: 65% (43%)b
OSO2NMe2: 68%
OSO2NMe2: 67%
aThe reaction was carried on 2 mmol scale at 78 C. The yields in the parentheses were obtained without SIPr·HCl. The
yields were obtained with 2.0 equiv of ArMgX. dOne more equivalent of ArMgX was added. eC6H5N=CHC6H4X was used as
an electrophile. fArX was C6H5CH=NC6H4X.
o
b
c
of ArMgX could further raise the yields of the desired biaryls (3c and 3l). Notably, various sensitive
functional groups including easily enolizable ketone (3l and 3n), ester (3d), nitrile (3k), amide (3e-3g),
sulfamide (3h) and aldimine (3j and 3k) groups could be well tolerated and no noticeable products
resulted from the addition of Grignard reagents to these groups were found. Besides, the cross-couplings
for sterically hindered biaryls could also be achieved smoothly (3b, 3c and 3k). Heteroaryl Grignard
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The Journal of Organic Chemistry
reagents and electrophiles were well compatible with this biaryl coupling reaction, and provided the
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2
3
heteroaryl-containing biaryls in good yields (3f, 3j, 3m, 3n and 3o).
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7
8
Scheme 3. Biaryl couplings of various electrophiles with Functionalized Grignard reagentsa
9
FeCl3 (10 mol %)/SIPr HCl (10 mol %)
Ti(OEt)4 (20 mol %)/PhOMgX (20 mol %)
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12
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ArFG
FGArMgBr
1.5 equiv
2
(FG)Ar
(FG)ArX
+
TMEDA (40 mol %), PhMe/THF, 78 oC
4
1
O
MeHN
COOEt
CN
CONMe2
4c
4b
MeO
NC
4a
4d
4e
I: 90%; Br: 86%
Cl: 71% (40%)b
OTs: 74%; 78%c
OSO2NMe2: 65%
OCONMe2: 63%
I: 87% (79%)b
Br: 85% (83%)b
Cl: 67% (38%)b
OTs: 62%; 71%c
I: 80% (70%)b
I: 80% (78%)
Br: 79% (63%)b
Cl: 62% (30%)b
Br: 75% (60%)b
Cl: 62% (30%)
OTs: 64%
I: 81% (70%)b
Br: 74%
OCONMe2: 63%; 72%c
Cl: 67% (43%)b
OTs: 57%;69%c
OSO2NMe2: 72%
O
CONHMe
Me2N
HN
CONMe2
H
N
S
NC
CONHMe
MeO
OBn
Br: 804%j (76%)b
Cl: 68% (31%)b
OCONMe2: 66%
S
4g
N
O
N
4f
N
4i
I: 81%
I: 79%
dI: 85%4h
dBr: 82%
Br: 74%
Br: 68% (51%)b
Cl: 57% (21%)b
dBr: 81% (70%)b
Cl: 63% (32%)b
dCl: 69% (42%)b
OSO2NMe2: 63%
NC
CN
NC
EtOOC
NH2
COOEt
N
N
N
4m
4n
4o
4k
4l
Me2NOC
Br: 72% (31%)b
OTs: 66%
Cl: 78% (53%)b
OTs: 74%
eBr: 79%
eCl: 69%
eOTs: 65%
Br: 78%
Br: 88%
Cl: 67% (32%)b
OTs: 68%
OSO2NMe2: 63%
OCONMe2: 75%
Cl: 84% (80%)b
OTs: 72%
aThe reaction was carried on 2 mmol; the functionalized Grignard reagents were prepared by I/Mg exchange using i-
PrMgCl·LiCl and the concomitant i-PrI was removed. bThe yields in the parentheses were obtained without SIPr. cThe yields
were obtained with 2.0 equiv of ArMgX. dOne more equivalent of ArMgX was added. eGrignard reagent was
C6H5CH=NC6H4MgCl·LiCl.
The couplings of Knochel-type functionalized Grignard reagents were also investigated using the
present protocol, and the results were summarized in Scheme 3 (4a-o). It can be seen that although the
functionalized aryl Grignard reagents were only stable at low temperature,7,16 yet under the current
reaction conditions they could still undergo the desired coupling reaction at elevated temperature as we
previously reported.13 Besides, although the Fe salts/SIPr catalyzed biaryl couplings of ArCl, ArOTs
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and ArOSO2NMe2 had been reported,10h,17 to the best of our knowledge, the couplings with sensitive
functional group(s) in ether partners have been elusive to date. Our experiments clearly showed that
these previously challenging couplings could be well realized under our present conditions. Once again,
the present catalytic system was efficient for various aryl electrophiles. The yields of the iodides and
bromides were good in most cases in the absence of NHC (4a-o). Upon addition of SIPr ligand, the
yields of both the iodides and the bromides were further increased, demonstrating clearly that the
present combination of Fe salts with SIPr did not result in dehalogenation as previously reported.9,10b,c,12
In our previous reports,13 the yields of couplings between aryl chlorides and functionalized Grignard
reagents were rather low without SIPr. Under the present conditions, the yields of aryl chlorides were
significantly improved (4a-m). Similarly, the couplings of various oxygen-based electrophiles such as
ArOTs, ArOSO2NMe2, ArOCONMe2 could be also achieved with Knochel-type functionalized
Grignard reagents (4a-m). On the whole, the yields of the couplings of ArOTs, ArOCONMe2 and
ArOSO2NMe2 compared to those of the corresponding aryl chlorides. Besides, increasing the amount of
Grignard reagents could increase the yields of the reactions with these oxygen-based electrophiles (4a-
e).
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Functionalized heteroaryl Grignard reagents could undergo the biaryl coupling well (4f-i). Besides,
the reaction continued to proceed smoothly even if functional groups were present on both coupling
substrates, and thus bifunctional biphenyls were conveniently furnished (4j-m). It should be noted that
the unprotected amide groups (CONHMe), after neutralized by a Grignard reagent, had a strong
complexation with iron, and thus often acted as a directing group for Fe-catalyzed ortho C-H
activation.18 Up to date, the Fe-catalyzed couplings of the arylmagnesium reagents bearing this function
at 3 or 4-position remains elusive, probably due to the facts that the strong binding with iron might
inhibit the catalytic reaction or result in ortho C-H activation as a side reaction. Our experiments clearly
showed that these challenging Fe-catalyzed couplings of such Grignard reagents could be well achieved
under the present conditions (4e, 4f and 4j). Additionally, functionalized aryl pyridines (4m-o) were
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also assembled through the couplings of pyridyl halides or sulphonates with functionalized Grignard
reagents.
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Table 2 Reactivity comparison of the electrophilesa
4-MeOC6H4MgBr
(1.5 equiv)
Ar
+
Ar
Ar
Y
Y
X
FeCl3/SIPr/TMEDA
Ti(OEt)4/PhOMgBr
5
6
Entry
X
Y
Yield (%)
5
6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
I
Br
I
Br
Cl
I
Br
Cl
I
Br
Cl
p-TsO
p-TsO
5a, 88
5b, 79
5c, 85
5c, 82
5c, 58
5d, 78
5d, 63
5d, 56
5e, 82
5e, 78
5e, 59
6, trace
6, 8
6, trace
6, trace
6, 21
6, 11
6, 25
6, 31
6, 3
p-TsO
OCONMe2
OCONMe2
OCONMe2
OSO2NMe2
OSO2NMe2
OSO2NMe2
9
10
11
Br
Cl
6, 5
6, 17
aThe reaction was carried on 2 mmol scale under the same
conditions as noted in Scheme 2.
So far, Fe-catalyzed selective biaryl coupling reactions between different aryl electrophiles (e.g.
ArI/ArBr vsArOTs/ArOSO2NMe2) has not been reported,19 probably because only rather limited types
of aryl electrophiles could undergo Fe-catalyzed biaryl coupling reaction under the previously reported
conditions.10 Our protocol is suitable for various electrophiles, and at the same time, aryl iodides and
bromides seemed to exhibit higher reactivity (Scheme 2 and 3), therefore we believe that a selective
coupling between different electrophiles can be realized. In order to achieve this goal, the reactivity of
various electrophiles under the present conditions was compared and the results were outlined in Table
2. Obviously, the reactivity of aryl iodides and bromides was higher than that of the corresponding
oxygen-based electrophiles under the present conditions, and the highly selective couplings of iodide
over Br, Cl, OTs, ArOCONMe2 and ArOSO2NMe2 could be well achieved (Table 2, entries 1, 3, 6, 9).
Similarly, the bromide could also undergo the biaryl coupling preferentially to the chloride and oxygen-
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based electrophiles (Table 2, entries 2, 4, 7, 10). Since the reactivity of the chloride was only slightly
higher than that of ArOTs, ArOCONMe2 and ArOSO2NMe2, it seemed difficult to achieve a selective
coupling between these electrophiles (Table 2, entries 5, 9, 11).
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Scheme 4 Synthesis of terphehyl acid 8
MgBr
EtOOC
Br
TsO
OTs
COOEt
COOH
FeCl3/SIPr/TMEDA
Ti(OEt)4/PhOMgBr
7,
4.6 g, 78%
OH-/H2O
C5H11OC6H4MgBr
C5H11
O
H2O/H+
FeCl3/SIPr/TMEDA
Ti(OEt)4/PhOMgBr
8
, Intermidate terphenyl acid for anidulafungin
2.6 g, two step yield: 71%; total yield: 55%
Based on these findings, we believed that diarylation or polyarylation could be achieved using the
present Fe-catalyzed biaryl reaction through an orthogonal coupling strategy. As outlined in Scheme 4, a
terphenyl intermediate 8 for anidulafungin was facilely synthesized on a multi-gram scale through
selective iterative biaryl couplings. The synthesis started with readily available 4-BrC6H4OTs, and the
first bairyl coupling of CBr bond using a Knochel-type functionalized Grignard reagent proceeded
selectively over COTs, affording the compound 7 in 78% yield. Under the present conditions, the
second coupling occurred with the sensitive ester group being untouched. After hydrolysis, the desired
compound 8 was obtained in 71% two-step yield from 7 (55% total yield). As far as we know, our
synthesis represents the first application example of Fe-catalyzed selective biaryl coupling between C-X
and oxygen-based electrophiles. Besides, the previous synthesis of this compound used to utilize Pd-
catalyzed Suzuki coupling to construct functionalized biaryl structural unit,20 however, the high price of
Pd catalysts and the worrying residual of Pd metal always bother their industrial applications in
pharmaceuticals. Our synthesis only used two low price and nontoxic metal (Fe and Ti), thus the above
problems of Pd catalysis have been well solved.
Mechanistically, we believe thata Fe/Ti bimetallic cooperativity assisted by phenolate coordination
plays an important role in the present reaction because our experiments have clearly demonstrated that
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the combination of Fe salt, Ti(OEt)4 and ArOM was crucial to the success of this Fe-catalyzed biaryl
cross-coupling (Table 1 entries 2-4, 21 and 22; for more details, see: Table s1 in ref 13). We propose a
tentative Fe/Ti bimetallic cooperativity mechanism via an Fe(II)/Fe(IV) or Fe(I)/Fe(III) catalytic cycle
as illustrated inScheme 5.10c,21 We think that the Fe(II)/Fe(IV) or Fe(I)/Fe(III) cycle10c is more
reasonable than the Fe(0)/Fe(II) cycle10h under our conditions because the Fe(0) species is easily
oxidized by the Ti(IV) compounds and therefore difficult to exist. Besides, we also found that the
present reaction was not inhibited by the addition of a radical scanvengner (TEMPO), indicating that
this Fe catalytic cycle consists of double-electron processes. Thus, the catalytic cycle started with
bimetallic complex A formed from ArꞌnTi(OEt)4-n·(EtOMgX)n, PhOM, FeCl3 and ligand (NHC or
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FeCl3/L
PhOM
ArAr'
Ar'nTi(OEt)4-n (EtOMgX)n
Ph
Ar'nTi(OEt)4-n (EtOMgX)n
RE
Ph
O
Ar
Ar'
O
Ar'
Ar'
Ar'
Fem+2
Fem
Ti
Ti
(EtOMgX)
L
(EtOMgX)
L
(PhO)
Ar'
O
(PhO)
O
X
Ar'
OA
B
Et(Ph)
Et(Ph)
A
ArX
L = NHC and TMEDA; m = 1 or 2; n = 1, 2, 3
RE = reductive elimination; OA = oxidative addition
Scheme 5 Tentative bimetallic cooperativity mechanism
TMEDA). Obviously, this complex prevented the formation of Arꞌ2Fe(I)MgX, Arꞌ2Fe(II) or
ArArꞌ2Fe(II)MgX, and thus deiodination/debromiantion and the homocoupling side reactions were well
suppressed. We also considered that the formation of bimetallic complex A had altered the reactivity of
Fe species in oxidative addition to the CX bond of ArX. For example, in the absence of NHC ligand,
the oxidative addition of Fe salts could hardly occur on the CCl bond of aryl chlorides bearing an
electron-donating group (e.g. MeOC6H4Cl),10b-d whereas this oxidative addition took place in our Fe
catalyst system (Table 1, entries 2-4; scheme 2, 3b). Subsequently, complex A underwent oxidative
addition with ArX to form a bimetallic Fe(IV) or Fe(III) complex B. This high-valent B with high
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coordination number is liable to undergo the final reductive elimination reaction to release the product.
Besides, the bimetallic cooperativity can also function as a bidentate ligand, and thus promote the
reductive elimination process to a certain extent. Thus, by postulating the catalytic cycle consisting of
two bimetallic complexes A and B, the fact that the deiodination/debromiantion and the homocoupling
side reactions were well suppressed in our reaction has been reasonably explained. Nevertheless, the
exact mode of bimetallic synergy is not clear at present, and polynuclear complexes (such as
macrocyclic or clathrate complex) can’t be excluded, especially when the salts of catechol or
hydroquinone was used. Further studies for the structures of Fe/Ti bimetallic complexes and
mechanistic details are underway in our laboratories.
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3. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we reported a new iron-based catalyst system, a combination of the commonly used
FeCl3/SIPr with Ti(OEt)4/PhOM, which enabled a highly general and chemoselective biaryl cross
coupling between various electrophiles and Grignard reagents. To the best of our knowledge, this is the
first iron-based catalytic system that can be applied to all common aryl electrophiles (ArX, X = I, Br,
Cl, OTs, OCONMe2, OSO2NMe2) with high tolerance to important functional groups. By virtue of the
high generality of this iron-based catalytic system, the highly selective couplings between ArI or ArBr
and ArOTs/ArOCONMe2/OSO2NMe2 have been realized for the first time, which enabled a Fe-
catalyzed facile synthesis of a terphenyl intermediate for anidulafungin. Because Fe-catalyzed
functional group tolerant biaryl coupling reaction of aryl Grignard reagents remains a challenge, and at
the same time, Fe-catalyzed Negishi and Suzuki biaryl couplings are rather underdeveloped, we expect
that the present protocol provides a practical solution to this long-standing problem and narrows the gap
between iron catalysis and palladium or nickel catalysis in this regard. Moreover, the Fe/Ti synergistic
catalysis also provides implications for us to develop Fe-catalyzed Negishi and Suzuki biaryl couplings,
which are currently under the way in our laboratories.
4. EXPERIMENTAL SECTIONS
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1
13
General InformationIR spectra were recorded using a FTIR spectrophotometer. H NMR and C
1
2
3
13
NMR spectra were recorded on 400, 500 or 600 MHz spectrometer (100, 125 or 150 MHz for C
4
5
6
7
8
9
spectroscopy) using TMS as an internal standard. High resolution mass spectra (HRMS) were obtained
with a microTOF (ESI).Melting points recorded on a microscopic instrument and areuncorrected.
All reagents and solvents used for aryl magnesium reagents or lithium reagents and reactions were
freshly dehydrated and distilled before use. Ti(OEt)4 was distilled under vacuum before use. The
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o
corresponding glassware was oven dried (120 C) and cooled under a stream of argon gas. Aryl
Grignard reagents such as phenyl magnesium or 4-methoxyphenyl magnesium were prepared according
to standard procedure. Pyridyl Grignard reagents were prepared via bromine-magnesium exchange
using i-PrMgCl while functionalized aryl Grignard reagents such as 2-cyanophenylmagnesium chloride
or 4-(ethoxycarbonyl)phenylmagnesium chloride were prepared via iodine-magnesium exchange using
i-PrMgCl∙LiCl according to Knochel’s method.22 All the Grignardreagents were titrated before use.23
Representative procedure for the biaryl cross couplings of common Grignard reagents (3aꞌ)
Under Ar atmosphere, Ti(OEt)4 (91.4 mg; 0.4 mmol) and phenol (37.7 mg; 0.4 mmol) were added to 3
mL THF, and stirred at room temperature for 20 to 30 min. A solution of 4-MeOC6H4MgBr (3.4 mmol,
1.0 M in THF) was added dropwise through a syringe to the resulting mixture during 10 - 15 min, and
then stirred at room temperature for 30 to 40 min.
To another three-necked round-bottom flask was added C6H5Br (314 mg, 2 mmol) and 3 mL THF.
Under stirring, FeCl3 (32.5 mg; 0.2 mmol) and SIPr·HCl (68.2 mg; 0.2 mmol) were added to the
resulting solution and stirred for 5 min at room temperature. Then TMEDA (92.8 mg, 0.8 mmol) was
added and stirred for 5 min at room temperature. The above-prepared solution of titanate, phenolate and
Grignard reagent was then added dropwise through a syringe during 10 - 15 min. After addition, 3 mL
toluene was added (THF/CH3Ph = 3:1) and the mixture was heated to reflux under stirring (about 78 oC).
The progress of the reaction was monitored by TLC, and after the reaction finished (about 6 - 8 hr), the
reaction was quenched by adding 30 mL distilled water. After being filtered, the solid and filtrate were
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extracted with CH2Cl2. The organic layer was dried over Na2SO4 and concentrated to yield the crude
compound, which was purified by column chromatography to yield the desired product 3aꞌ (324 mg, 88%
yield).
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Typical procedure for the biaryl cross couplings of functionalized Grignard reagents (4b)
Under Ar atmosphere, the solution of 4-IC6H4COOEt (939 mg, 3.4 mmol) in 3.4 mL THF was cooled to
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-40 C under stirring. To this solution was added i-PrMgCl·LiCl (3.4 mmol, 1.0 M in THF) dropwise.
The stirring was continued at that temperature until the exchange reaction was completed (monitored by
TLC). Under Ar atmosphere, THF (3 mL); Ti(OEt)4 (91.4 mg; 0.4 mmol) and phenol (37.7 mg; 0.4
mmol) were added to another round-bottom flask, and the mixture was stirred and cooled to -45 ~ -50
oC. To this solution, the above-prepared Knochel-type functionalized Grignard reagent was added
o
dropwise through a syringe during 10-15 min with the temperature being kept below -40 C. After the
addition, the mixture was allowed to come to room temperature in 2 hr, and stirred at that temperature
for 30 min. The solvent as well as i-PrI were removed under vacuum (about 10 mmHg) during which
the temperature was below 20 oC until the mixture became a paste. THF (6 mL) was added to the paste
and the stirring was continued until a solution was formed.
To another three-necked round-bottom flask was added C6H5Br (312 mg, 2 mmol) and 3 mL THF.
Under stirring, FeCl3 (32.5 mg; 0.2 mmol) and SIPr·HCl (68.2 mg; 0.2 mmol) were added to the
resulting solution and stirred for 5 min at room temperature. Then TMEDA (92.8 mg, 0.8 mmol) was
added and stirred for 5 min at room temperature.The above-prepared solution of titanate, phenolate and
Grignard reagent was added dropwise during 10-15 min. After addition, 3 mL toluene was added
o
(THF/CH3Ph = 3:1) and the mixture was heated to reflux under stirring (about 78 C). The progress of
the reaction was monitored by TLC, and after the reaction finished (about 6-8 hr), the reaction was
quenched by adding 30 mL distilled water. After being filtered, the solid and filtrate were extracted with
CH2Cl2. The organic layer was dried over Na2SO4 and concentrated to yield the crude compound, which
was purified by column chromatography to yield the desired product 4b (385 mg, 85% yield).
4-Methoxy-1,1'-biphenyl (3a and 3aꞌ). The product was prepared as described in the typical
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procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether as a white solid in
88% yield (324 mg for 3aꞌ, X = Br): m.p. 85-86 °C (lit., 85-87 °C); Rf = 0.55 (petroleum ether); IR (cm-
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
1, KBr): 1606, 1488, 834; H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.53-7.47 (m, 4H), 7.39-7.36 (m, 2H),
13
7.26 (t, J = 5.6 Hz, 1H), 6.95-6.92 (m, 2H), 3.81 (s, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm)
7
8
9
159.1, 140.8, 133.8, 128.7, 128.1, 126.7, 126.6, 114.2, 55.3. Data was consistent with that reported in
the literature.24
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4'-Methoxy-2,4-dimethyl-1,1'-biphenyl (3b). The product was prepared as described in the typical
procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate =
100/1 as a yellow oil in 88% yield (374 mg for 3b, X = Br): Rf = 0.43 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate =
50/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2952, 2924, 1247, 910, 807; 1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.25-7.22 (m,
13
2H), 7.13-7.03 (m, 3H), 6.96-6.92 (m, 2H), 3.85 (s, 3H), 2.36 (s, 3H), 2.25 (s, 3H); C{1H} NMR
(CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm) 158.5, 138.8, 136.7, 135.4, 134.4, 131.1, 130.4, 130.4, 130.4, 130.4, 129.9,
126.5, 113.5, 113.5, 113.5, 100.0, 55.4, 21.1, 20.5. Data was consistent with that reported in the
literature.25
1-(o-Tolyl)naphthalene (3c). The product was prepared as described in the typical procedure for
3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 100/1 as a white
solid in 78% yield (341 mg for 3c, X = Br): m.p. 64.1-65.7 °C (lit., 65-66 °C); Rf = 0.44 (petroleum
1
ether/ethyl acetate = 50/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3057, 2360, 2345, 1394, 1017, 802, 778, 758; H NMR
(CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.93-7.87 (m, 2H), 7.56-7.47 (m, 3H), 7.41-7.25 (m, 6H), 2.05 (s, 3H);
13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm) 140.3, 139.8, 136.8, 133.6, 132.0, 130.4, 129.9, 128.2,
127.6, 127.5, 126.7, 126.1, 126.0, 125.8, 125.6, 125.4, 20.1. Data was consistent with that reported in
the literature.26
Ethyl 4'-methoxy-[1,1'-biphenyl]-3-carboxylate (3d). The product was prepared as described in the
typical procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate
= 100/1 as a yellow oil in 88% yield (451 mg for 3d, X = Br): Rf = 0.40 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate =
50/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2980, 1770, 1608, 1510, 1435, 1365, 1298, 1244, 1180, 1106, 1040, 1030, 831,
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745, 571;1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz)δ (ppm) 8.23 (t, J = 1.6 Hz, 1H), 7.97 (dt, J = 8.0 Hz, J = 1.6 Hz,
1H), 7.74-7.71(m, 1H), 7.58-7.55 (m, 2H), 7.47 (t, J = 7.6 Hz, 1H),7.01-6.98 (m, 2H), 4.40 (q, J = 7.6
Hz, 2H), 3.85 (s, 3H), 1.41 (t, J = 6.8 Hz, 3H); 13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm) 166.8, 159.6,
141.1, 132.8, 131.1, 131.0, 131.0, 128.8, 127.9, 127.8, 114.4, 61.1, 55.5, 14.4. Data was consistent with
that reported in the literature.27
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4'-Methoxy-N,2'-dimethyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carboxamide (3e). The product was prepared as
described in the typical procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum
ether/ethyl acetate = 10/1 as a white solid in 82% yield (419 mg for 3e, X = Br): m.p. 155-157 °C (lit.,
156.2-157.8 °C); Rf = 0.32 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 3/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3338, 3308, 2933,
1
2911, 2366, 1644, 1636, 1618, 1542, 1495, 1300, 1280, 1164, 1050, 858, 814, 759; H NMR (CDCl3,
400 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.78 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.34 (d, J = 7.6 Hz, 2H), 7.13 (d, J = 8.0 Hz, 1H), 6.81-6.78
13
(m, 2H), 6.24 (s, 1H), 3.82 (s, 3H), 3.03 (d, J = 4.4 Hz, 3H), 2.24 (s, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125
MHz) δ (ppm) 168.2, 159.1, 144.9, 136.7, 133.5, 132.7, 130.7, 129.6, 126.4, 115.9, 111.3, 55.3, 26.9,
20.7. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.13
2-Methoxy-N-methyl-5-(thiophen-2-yl)benzamide (3f). The product was prepared as described in
the typical procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl
acetate = 3/1 as a brown oil in 77% yield (381 mg for 3f, X = Br): Rf = 0.25 (petroleum ether/ethyl
acetate = 1/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3342, 3103, 2978, 1677, 1149, 871; 1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm)
13
7.67-7.27 (m, 2H), 7.21-6.70 (m, 4H), 5.39 (s, 1H), 3.85 (s, 3H), 2.70 (s, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3,
100 MHz) δ (ppm) 155.6, 134.0, 131.9, 129.4, 129.1, 126.9, 126.7, 125.8, 116.1, 112.8, 111.2, 56.3,
26.6; MS (HRMS) m/z Calcd for C13H14NO2S+ [M+H]+ 248.0740, found 248.0738.
2'-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carboxamide (3g). The product was prepared as
described in the typical procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum
ether/ethyl acetate = 10/1 as a yellow oil in 85% yield (434 mg for 3g, X = Br): Rf = 0.31 (petroleum
ether/ethyl acetate = 3/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2939, 2858, 2835, 1650, 1610, 1483, 1390, 1261, 1236, 1082,
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1026, 754, 738; H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.56-7.54 (m, 2H), 7.46-7.44 (m, 2H), 7.35-7.29
1
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(m, 2H), 7.04-6.97 (m, 2H), 3.80 (s, 3H), 3.09 (s, 6H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm)
4
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161.7, 156.5, 150.2, 142.8, 131.3, 130.0, 122.4, 120.8, 115.5, 111.2, 109.3, 55.6, 40.6, 35.4; MS
+
(HRMS) m/z Calcd for C16H18NO2 [M+H]+ 256.1327, found 256.1329.
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N,N-dimethyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-sulfonamide (3h). The product was prepared as described in the
typical procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate
= 10/1 as a white solid in 90% yield (470 mg for 3h, X = Br): m.p. 89-91 °C (lit., 89-90 °C); Rf = 0.33
1
(petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 5/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 1596, 1480, 1332, 730, 697; H NMR (CDCl3,
500 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.87 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.77 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.63-7.61 (m, 2H), 7.52-7.49 (m,
13
2H), 7.46-7.43 (m, 1H), 2.77 (s, 6H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm)145.6, 139.3, 134.1,
132.4, 129.1, 128.3, 127.6, 127.3, 38.0. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.28
4'-Methoxy-[1, 1'-biphenyl]-4-carbonitrile (3i). The product was prepared as described in the
typical procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate
= 50/1 as a white solid in 88% yield (368 mg for 3i, X = Br): m.p. 102.1-104.4 °C (lit., 101.5-102.5 °C);
Rf = 0.43 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 20/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2962, 2357, 2320, 1635, 1604, 1257,
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1030, 825, 759; H NMR (CDCl3, 600 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.79-7.78 (m, 2H), 7.70-7.69 (m, 2H), 7.45-7.43
13
(m, 2H), 6.97-6.95 (m, 2H), 3.88 (s, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm) 194.2, 163.4,
138.3, 136.6, 132.5, 131.2, 129.8, 128.5, 113.7, 55.5. Data was consistent with that reported in the
literature.24
4-(Thiophen-2-yl)benzaldehyde (3j). The product was prepared as described in the typical
procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 50/1
as a white solid in 71% yield (267 mg for 3j, X = Br): m.p. 69.3-70.9 °C (lit. 69.0–69.5 °C); Rf = 0.31
(petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 10/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3012, 1700, 1601, 1278, 791; 1H NMR (CDCl3,
500 MHz) δ (ppm) 9.99 (s, 1H), 7.87 (d, J = 8.3 Hz, 2H), 7.79 (d, J = 8.2 Hz, 2H), 7.49 (dd, J = 3.6, 0.9
Hz, 1H), 7.43-7.42 (m, 1H), 7.13 (dd, J = 5.0, 3.8 Hz, 1H); 13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm)
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191.5, 142.7, 140.1, 135.1, 130.5, 128.5, 127.0, 126.1, 125.1. Data was consistent with that reported in
the literature.29
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2'-Isopropoxy-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-amine (3k). The product was prepared as described in the typical
procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate =
200/1 as a brown oil in 81% yield (368 mg for 3k, X = Br): Rf = 0.33 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate =
100/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3039, 3028, 2970, 2922, 2361, 2342, 1742, 1718, 1612, 1481, 1436, 1373, 1361,
1356, 1227, 1217, 1122, 1100, 950, 750; 1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.31-7.25 (m, 2H), 7.15-
7.10 (m, 2H), 7.05-7.00 (m, 2H), 6.82-6.75 (m, 2H), 4.37-4.31 (m, 1H), 3.55 (s, 2H), 1.23 (d, J = 18.0
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Hz, 6H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm) 132.3, 131.3, 130.6, 128.8, 128.3, 121.9, 116.5,
116.1, 72.1, 29.8, 22.2. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.13
1-([1,1'-Biphenyl]-4-yl)ethan-1-one (3l). The product was prepared as described in the typical
procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 50/1
as a white solid in 73% yield (287 mg for 3l, X = Br): m.p. 121.1-123.4 oC (lit., 121-123 oC); Rf = 0.50
1
(petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 20/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 1683, 1602, 1267, 963, 766; H NMR (CDCl3,
500 MHz) δ (ppm) 8.06 (d, J = 8.3 Hz, 2H), 7.71 (d, J = 8.3 Hz, 2H), 7.66-7.65 (m, 2H), 7.52-7.49 (m,
13
2H), 7.44-7.43 (m, 1H), 2.67 (s, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm) 197.8, 145.8, 139.9,
135.9, 129.0, 128.9, 128.3, 127.3, 127.2, 26.7. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.30
2-(4-Methoxyphenyl)pyridine (3m).The product was prepared as described in the typical procedure
for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 20/1 as a
yellow oil in 90% yield (333 mg for 3m, X = Br): Rf = 0.29 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 10/1); IR
(cm-1, KBr): 3051, 3005, 2958, 1608, 1589, 1514, 1465, 1435, 1271, 1217, 1176, 781; 1H NMR (CDCl3,
500 MHz) δ (ppm) 8.66 (d, J = 4.6 Hz, 1H), 7.97 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 1H), 7.69-7.63 (m, 2H), 7.16-7.13 (m,
13
1H), 7.00 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 2H), 3.83 (s, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm) 160.5, 157.1,
149.5, 136.7, 132.0, 128.2, 121.4, 119.8, 114.1, 55.3. Data was consistent with that reported in the
literature.31
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The Journal of Organic Chemistry
1-(6-(Thiophen-2-yl)pyridin-3-yl)ethan-1-one (3n). The product was prepared as described in the
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typical procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate
= 50/1 as a yellow oil in 83% yield (337 mg for 3n, X = Br): Rf = 0.30 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate =
6
1
10/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3246, 3101, 2978, 2926, 1575, 1456, 1089, 1020, 912, 702; H NMR (CDCl3,
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600 MHz) δ (ppm) 8.28 (d, J = 2.0 Hz, 1H), 7.64 (dd, J = 5.6, 1.6 Hz, 1H), 7.35 (d, J = 5.6 Hz, 1H),
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7.18 (d, J = 3.2 Hz, 1H), 6.87-6.84 (m, 2H), 1.91 (s, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 150 MHz) δ (ppm)
151.9, 147.7, 142.6, 140.7, 136.3, 127.5, 126.9, 125.7, 124.6, 73.2, 32.1; MS (HRMS) m/z Calcd for
C11H9NNaOS+ [M+Na]+ 226.0303, found 226.0304.
3-(p-Tolyl)pyridine (3o). The product was prepared as described in the typical procedure for 3aꞌ
and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 50/1 as a white solid in
90% yield (305 mg for 3o, X = Br): m.p. 38.2-39.5 °C (lit., 38-39 °C); Rf = 0.32 (petroleum ether/ethyl
acetate = 10/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2924, 2852, 2350, 1636, 1501, 1458, 1276, 796, 713; 1H NMR (CDCl3,
400 MHz) δ (ppm) 8.8 (s, 1H), 8.6 (s, 1H), 7.85-7.82 (m, 1H), 7.48-7.46 (m, 2H), 7.34-7.32 (m, 1H),
7.28-7.26 (m, 2H), 2.40 (d, J = 2.4 Hz, 3H);13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm) 148.2, 138.1,
136.8, 135.0, 134.2, 129.9, 127.1, 123.7, 21.2. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.32
[1,1'-Biphenyl]-2-carbonitrile (4a). The product was prepared as described in the typical procedure
for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 100/1 as a
yellow oil in 86% yield (308 mg for 4a, X = Br): Rf = 0.39 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 50/1); IR
(cm-1, KBr): 3045, 2369, 2345, 2323, 1653, 1559, 1539, 1507, 1457, 1270, 759, 699; 1H NMR (CDCl3,
500 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.79 (d, J = 7.7 Hz, 1H), 7.67 (t, J = 7.7 Hz, 1H), 7.60-7.58 (m, 2H), 7.55-7.51 (m,
3H), 7.49-7.46 (m, 2H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm) 145.5, 138.2, 133.8, 132.8, 130.1,
13
128.8, 128.7, 127.5, 118.7, 111.3. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.33
Ethyl [1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carboxylate (4b). The product was prepared as described in the typical
procedure and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 100/1 as a
yellow oil in 85% yield (385 mg for 4b, X = Br): Rf = 0.41 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 50/1); IR
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(cm-1, KBr): 3031, 2981, 1701, 1608, 1558, 1508, 1456, 1277, 1102, 858, 747, 697; H NMR (CDCl3,
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400 MHz) δ (ppm) 8.12 (d, J = 8.4Hz, 2H), 7.67-7.61 (m, 4H), 7.48-7.37 (m, 3H), 4.40 (q, J = 6.8Hz,
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6
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2H), 1.41 (t, J = 14.0Hz, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm) 166.5, 145.5, 140.1, 130.1,
129.3, 128.9, 128.1, 127.3, 127.0, 61.0, 14.4. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.34
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4'-Methyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carbonitrile (4c). The product was prepared as described in the typical
procedure for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 100/1
as a white solid in 79% yield (305 mg for 4c, X = Br): m.p. 112-115 °C (lit., 110-112 °C); Rf = 0.52
1
(petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 50/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2352, 2344, 1645, 748, 653; H NMR (CDCl3,
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400 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.69 (s, 1H), 7.67-7.64 (m, 5H), 7.62-7.60 (m, 2H), 2.43 (s, 3H); C{1H} NMR
(CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm) 195.4, 143.7, 136.8, 134.6, 131.6, 131.5, 130.3, 129.2, 127.3, 21.8. Data
was consistent with that reported in the literature.35
N, N, 2'-Trimethyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carboxamide (4d). The product was prepared as described in
the typical procedure for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl
acetate = 10/1 as a whitish solid in 75% yield (359 mg for 4d, X = Br): m.p. 97-98 °C (lit., 96-98 °C); Rf
= 0.45 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 3/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3015, 2913, 1620, 1390, 851, 774, 750; 1H
NMR (CDCl3, 500 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.50-7.48 (m, 2H), 7.38-7.36 (m, 2H), 7.30-7.23 (m, 4H), 3.11 (s,
13
6H), 2.29 (s, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm) 171.6, 143.3, 141.1, 135.3, 134.7, 130.4,
129.7, 129.2, 127.6, 127.0, 125.8, 39.7, 35.4, 20.4. Data was consistent with that reported in the
literature.13
4'-Methoxy-N-methyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-carboxamide (4e). The product was prepared as described
in the typical procedure for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl
acetate = 10/1 as a whitish solid in 74% yield (357 mg for 4e, X = Br): m.p. 130.4-131.5 °C (lit., 130-
132 °C); Rf = 0.3 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 3/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3299, 2937, 1640, 1533, 1248,
1
843, 761; H NMR (CDCl3, 500 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.65-7.63 (m, 1H), 7.47-7.43 (m, 1H), 7.36-7.33 (m,
13
4H), 6.96-6.94 (m, 2H), 5.39(s, 1H), 3.85 (d, J = 2.1 Hz, 3H), 2.71-2.69 (m, 3H); C{1H} NMR
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The Journal of Organic Chemistry
(CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm) 170.5, 159.3, 139.0, 135.6, 132.4, 130.1, 130.1, 129.8, 128.8, 127.2, 114.0,
55.3, 26.7. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.36
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5-(4-Methoxyphenyl)-N-methylnicotinamide (4f). The product was prepared as described in the
typical procedure for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate
= 5/1 as a white solid in 74% yield (359 mg for 4f, X = Br): m.p. 106.1-107.3 °C; Rf = 0.3 (petroleum
ether/ethyl acetate = 1/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3255, 3034, 2971, 2906, 2360, 2345, 2324, 1734, 1635, 1558,
1518, 1473, 1249, 1180, 1041, 1022, 829, 729, 576, 527; 1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 8.37 (s,
1H), 8.27 (d, J = 5.2 Hz, 1H), 7.17-7.15 (m, 2H), 7.06 (d, J = 5.2 Hz, 1H), 6.79-6.76 (m, 2H), 6.69-6.67
(m, 1H), 3.68-3.67 (m, 3H), 2.55 (d, J = 4.4 Hz, 3H); 13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm) 168.4,
160.3, 150.3, 149.0, 146.7, 131.3, 129.6, 129.3, 124.0, 114.3, 55.3, 26.6; MS (HRMS) m/z Calcd for
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C14H15N2O2 [M+H]+ 243.1128, found 243.1131.
5-(4-(Dimethylamino)phenyl)-N,N-dimethylthiophene-2-carboxamide (4g). The product was
prepared as described in the typical procedure for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using
petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 10/1 as a white solid in 68% yield (373 mg for 4g, X = Br): m.p. 169.7-
170.1°C; Rf = 0.35 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 3/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3601, 3554, 2916, 2906, 2854,
1520, 1388, 1197, 806, 734, 709; 1H NMR (CDCl3, 500 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.60-7.57 (m, 4H), 7.50-7.48 (m,
2H), 3.14-3.08 (m, 12H); 13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm) 171.6, 128.3, 128.1, 127.8, 126.9,
126.4, 126.3, 122.5, 45.5, 39.7, 35.5, 29.3; MS (HRMS) m/z Calcd for C15H19N2OS+ [M+H]+ 275.1213,
found 275.1214.
3-(6-(Benzyloxy)pyridin-3-yl)-N-methylbenzamide (4h). The product was prepared as described in
the typical procedure for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl
acetate = 5/1 as a white solid in 82% yield (522 mg for 4h, X = Br): m.p. 141-143 °C (lit., 143-144 °C);
Rf = 0.42 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 2/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2922, 2888, 2378, 2344, 2311, 1718,
1630, 1558, 1550, 1529, 1288, 1269, 1080, 829; 1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 8.44 (s, 1H), 8.00
(s, 1H), 7.89 (d, J = 8.7 Hz, 1H), 7.71 (d, J = 7.6 Hz, 1H), 7.66-7.64 (m, 1H), 7.53-7.49 (m, 3H), 7.41-
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7.32 (m, 3H), 6.94 (d, J = 8.6 Hz, 1H), 5.48 (s, 2H), 3.05 (d, J = 4.8 Hz, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3,
125 MHz) δ (ppm) 162.8, 144.2, 138.4, 138.0, 136.7, 135.6, 129.7, 129.5, 129.3, 128.6, 128.1, 125.7,
125.5, 111.7, 68.7, 27.0. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.13
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N-Methyl-5-(4-methylpyridin-3-yl)thiophene-2-carboxamide (4i). The product was prepared as
described in the typical procedure for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum
ether/ethyl acetate = 5/1 as a brown solid in 81% yield (376 mg for 4i): m.p. 99.1-99.5 °C; Rf = 0.30
(petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 2/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3448, 2953, 2923, 2361, 1602, 1589, 1533, 1500,
1488, 1455, 1392, 1265, 1219, 1203, 1035, 821, 808, 736; 1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 8.41 (s,
1H), 8.26 (s, 1H), 7.21-7.20 (m, 1H), 7.02-7.01 (m, 1H), 6.88-6.87 (m, 1H), 3.04 (s, 3H), 2.26 (s, 3H);
13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm) 163.7, 149.7, 148.9, 145.0, 142.0, 138.7, 129.8, 129.5,
127.0, 125.5, 39.8, 20.3; MS (HRMS) m/z Calcd for C12H13N2OS+[M+H]+ 233.0749, found 233.0753.
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4'-Cyano-N-methyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carboxamide (4j). The product was prepared as described in
the typical procedure for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl
acetate = 10/1 as a white solid in 80% yield (378 mg for 4j, X = Br): m.p. 130-131 °C (lit., 129-131 °C);
Rf = 0.30 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 3/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3385, 3311, 2361, 1647, 1635, 1541,
1
1317, 1276; H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz), δ (ppm): 7.88-7.81 (m, 3H), 7.78 (d, J = 7.3 Hz, 1H), 7.63-
13
7.59 (m, 1H), 7.51-7.47 (m, 2H), 6.41 (s, 1H), 3.05 (d, J = 4.8 Hz, 3H); C{1H}NMR (CDCl3, 100
MHz), δ (ppm): 167.5, 140.1, 138.0, 137.1, 133.0, 130.2, 130.1, 128.5, 126.9, 27.1. Data was consistent
with that reported in the literature.13
Ethyl 2'-cyano-[1,1'-biphenyl]-3-carboxylate (4k). The product was prepared as described in the
typical procedure for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate
= 40/1 as a white solid in 72% yield (362 mg for 4k, X = Br): m.p. 96-98 °C; Rf = 0.20 (petroleum
1
ether/ethyl acetate = 20/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2970, 2231, 1720, 1609, 1270, 767; H NMR (CDCl3, 600
MHz) δ (ppm) 8.21 (t, J = 1.6 Hz, 1H), 8.14 (d, J = 7.8 Hz, 1H), 7.81-7.76 (m, 2H), 7.71-7.65 (m, 1H),
7.61-7.53 (m, 2H), 7.51-7.46 (m, 1H), 4.41 (q, J = 7.1 Hz, 2H), 1.41 (t, J = 7.1 Hz, 3H); 13C{1H} NMR
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The Journal of Organic Chemistry
(CDCl3, 150 MHz) δ (ppm) 166.2, 144.6, 138.5, 133.8, 133.1, 133.0, 131.3, 130.2, 130.0, 129.9, 128.9,
128.01, 118.4, 111.5, 61.3, 14.4. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.37
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2'-Cyano-N,N-dimethyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-carboxamide (4l). The product was prepared as described
in the typical procedure for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl
acetate = 10/1 as a white solid in 78% yield (390 mg for 4l, X = Cl): m.p. 101-102 °C (lit., 102.5-105.3
°C); Rf = 0.35 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 3/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3063, 2930, 2351, 2320, 2224,
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1633, 1506, 1489, 1471, 1395, 1269, 1076, 761, 748, 525; H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.76-
7.74 (m, 1H), 7.62-7.55 (m, 2H), 7.54-7.43 (m, 5H), 2.82 (s, 3H), 2.65 (s, 3H); 13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3,
125 MHz) δ (ppm) 170.1, 143.5, 136.3, 135.1, 133.2, 132.4, 131.0, 130.4, 129.3, 129.1, 128.1, 127.3,
118.3, 111.7, 38.6, 34.6. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.13
Ethyl 4-(pyridin-2-yl)benzoate (4m). The product was prepared as described in the typical
procedure for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 20/1
as a white solid in 88% yield (400 mg for 4m, X = Br): m.p. 51-53 °C (lit., 50.5-52.0 °C); Rf = 0.52
(petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 5/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3412, 3055, 2982, 2937, 2904, 2874, 1950, 1742,
1
1608, 1587, 1562, 1465, 1288, 1180, 1170, 866, 796, 750, 700, 617; H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz), δ
(ppm) 8.68 (d, J = 3.4 Hz, 1H), 8.10 (d, J = 8.2 Hz, 2H), 8.02 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.73 (s, 2H), 7.24-
13
7.21 (m, 1H), 4.36 (q, J = 7.1 Hz, 2H); 1.36 (t, J = 7.1 Hz, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ
(ppm) 166.3, 160.0, 149.8, 143.3, 136.8, 130.6, 129.9, 129.9, 126.7, 126.7, 122.8, 120.9, 61.0, 14.3.
Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.38
4-(Pyridin-2-yl)aniline (4n). The product was prepared as described in the typical procedure for 4b,
and the post-treatment was adjusted as follows: the reaction was quenched by adding 20 mL 2N HCl
solution, and the resuting mixture was stirred at 40 °C for 4 h. After cooled to rt, the mixture was
extracted by CH2Cl2 (2 × 20 mL), and the thus-obtained aqueous phase was neutralized to pH = 8 with a
saturated solution of Na2CO3. After being filtered, the solid and filtrate were extracted with CH2Cl2. The
organic layer was dried over Na2SO4 and concentrated to yield the crude product.The compound was
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purified through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 10/1 as a brown solid in 79%
1
2
3
yield (269 mg for 4n, X = Br): m.p. 96-97 °C (lit., 95-97°C); Rf = 0.30 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate =
4
5
6
1
2/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 3458, 3316, 3036, 3007, 1636, 1585, 1420, 1188, 783; H NMR (CDCl3, 600
7
8
MHz), δ (ppm) 8.62-8.61 (m, 1H), 7.84-7.82 (m, 2H), 7.66-7.63 (m, 1H), 7.62-7.60 (m, 1H), 7.11-7.09
9
13
(m, 1H), 6.75-6.72 (m, 1H), 3.81 (s,2H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 150 MHz) δ (ppm) 157.6, 149.5,
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147.6, 136.7, 129.7, 128.1, 121.0, 119.4, 115.2. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.39
2-(Pyridin-3-yl)benzonitrile (4o). The product was prepared as described in the typical procedure
for 4b and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 20/1 as a yellow
solid in 78% yield (281 mg for 4o, X = Br): m.p. 87 °C (lit., 88-89 °C); Rf = 0.32 (petroleum ether/ethyl
1
acetate = 10/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2921, 2361, 2224, 1591, 1475, 764; H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ
(ppm) 8.76 (d, J = 2.4Hz, 1H), 8.69 (dd, J = 4.8, 1.6Hz, 1H), 7.93 (dt, J = 7.6, 1.6Hz, 1H), 7.81-7.79 (m,
13
1H), 7.69 (td, J = 7.6, 1.2Hz, 1H), 7.53-7.49 (m, 2H), 7.45-7.41 (m, 1H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125
MHz) δ (ppm) 149.9, 149.3, 141.8, 136.2, 134.0, 133.2, 130.0, 128.5, 123.4, 118.1, 111.6. Data was
consistent with that reported in the literature.40
4-Bromo-4'-methoxy-1,1'-biphenyl (5a).The product was prepared as described in the typical
procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether as a white solid in
o
88% yield (463 mg for 5a, X = I): m.p. 142-143 °C ( lit., 143-145 C); Rf = 0.55 (petroleum ether); IR
1
(cm-1, KBr): 1602, 1558, 1496, 1261, 818; H NMR (CDCl3, 500 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.53 (d, J = 8.5 Hz,
2H), 7.49 (d, J = 8.7 Hz, 2H), 7.42 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 2H), 6.98 (d, J = 8.7 Hz, 2H), 3.86 (s, 3H); 13C{1H}
NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm) 159.4, 139.7, 132.5, 131.8, 128.3, 128.0, 120.8, 114.3, 55.4. Data was
consistent with that reported in the literature.41
4-Chloro-4'-methoxy-1,1'-biphenyl (5b).The product was prepared as described in the typical
procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether as a white solid in
79% yield (346 mg for 5b, X = Br): m.p. 111-113 oC (lit., 111-113 oC); Rf = 0.56 (petroleum ether); IR
(cm-1, KBr): 1554, 1489, 1263，812; 1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.50-7.47 (m, 4H), 7.38 (d, J
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= 7.8 Hz, 2H), 6.99-6.97 (m, 2H), 3.86 (s, 3H);13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 125 MHz) δ (ppm) 159.3, 139.3,
1
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3
132.7, 132.5, 128.8, 128.0, 127.9, 114.3, 55.4. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.42
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7
8
4'-Methoxy-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl 4-methylbenzenesulfonate (5c). The product was prepared as
described in the typical procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum
ether/ethyl acetate = 30/1 as a white solid in 82% yield (581 mg for 5c, X = Br): m.p. 133-135 °C (lit.,
130-132 °C); Rf = 0.29 (petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 20/1);IR (cm-1, KBr): 2988, 1558, 1375, 1175,
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1092, 1040, 822; H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz), δ (ppm): 7.74 (d, J = 8.3 Hz, 2H), 7.49-7.41 (m, 4H),
13
7.32 (d, J = 8.1 Hz, 2H), 7.07-6.92 (m, 4H), 3.84 (s, 3H), 2.45 (s, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100
MHz) δ (ppm): 159.5, 148.6, 145.5, 139.9, 132.5, 132.3, 129.9, 128.7, 128.2, 127.8, 122.7, 114.4, 55.4,
21.8. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.43
4'-Methoxy-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl dimethylcarbamate (5d). The product was prepared as described in
the typical procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl
acetate = 100/1 as a white solid in 63% yield (342 mg for 5d, X = Br): m.p. 164-165 °C; Rf = 0.40
1
(petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 50/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2967, 2936, 1719, 1170, 1035, 830; H NMR
(CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ 7.52 (dd, J = 14.6, 8.7 Hz, 4H), 7.17 (d, J = 8.6 Hz, 2H), 6.97 (d, J = 8.7 Hz, 2H),
3.85 (s, 3H), 3.12 (s, 3H), 3.03 (s, 3H); 13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm) 159.2, 155.1, 150.6,
138.0, 133.3, 128.2, 127.6, 122.1, 114.3, 55.4, 36.8, 36.6; MS (HRMS) m/z Calcd for
+
C16H18NO3 [M+H]+ 272.1287, found 272.1285.
4'-Methoxy-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl dimethylsulfamate (5e). The product was prepared as described in
the typical procedure for 3aꞌ and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum ether/ethyl
acetate = 100/1 as a white solid in 78% yield (480 mg for 5e, X = Br): m.p. 163-164 °C; Rf = 0.41
(petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 50/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2951, 1496, 1453, 1345, 824; 1H NMR (CDCl3,
600 MHz) δ 7.55 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.49 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 2H), 7.32 (d, J = 8.7 Hz, 2H), 6.98 (d, J = 8.8
Hz, 2H), 3.85 (s, 3H), 3.00 (s, 6H); 13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm) 159.5, 149.2, 139.6,
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132.6, 128.2, 128.0, 122.1, 114.4, 55.5, 38.9; MS (HRMS) m/z Calcd for C15H18NO4S+[M+H]+
308.0957, found 308.0953.
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7
8
4,4''-Dimethoxy-1,1':4',1''-terphenyl (6). The product was isolated through flash chromatography
using petroleum ether as a side product of the reaction of 5c (Table 2, entry 5) as a white solid in 21%
yield (121 mg for 6): m.p. 272-273 °C (lit., 273-274 °C); Rf = 0.17 (petroleum ether); IR (cm-1, KBr):
2966, 1606, 1490, 1291, 1180, 832; 1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 7.61 (s, 4H), 7.57 (d, J = 8.8
Hz, 4H), 6.99 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 4H), 3.86 (s, 6H); 13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 150 MHz) δ (ppm) 159.3, 139.2,
133.4, 128.1, 127.1, 114.3, 55.4. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.44
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Ethyl 4'-(tosyloxy)-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carboxylate (7). The product was prepared as described in the
typical procedure for 4b on a 15 mmol scale and isolated through flash chromatography using petroleum
ether/ethyl acetate = 40/1 as a white solid in 78% yield (4.64 g for 7): m.p. 145-147 °C; Rf = 0.21
(petroleum ether/ethyl acetate = 20/1); IR (cm-1, KBr): 2988, 1701, 1342, 1277, 1179, 1094, 845, 773;
1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 8.11-8.08 (m,2H), 7.76-7.73 (m, 2H), 7.60-7.57 (m, 2H), 7.55-
7.51 (m, 2H), 7.34-7.32 (m, 2H), 7.10-7.06 (m, 2H), 4.40 (q, J = 7.1 Hz, 2H), 2.46 (s, 3H), 1.41 (t, J =
7.1 Hz, 3H); 13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3, 100 MHz) δ (ppm) 166.4, 149.7, 145.6, 144.1, 139.1, 132.5, 130.2,
129.9, 129.7, 128.6, 128.5, 127.0, 123.0, 61.2, 21.8, 14.4. Data was consistent with that reported in the
literature.45
4''-(Pentyloxy)-[1,1':4',1''-terphenyl]-4-carboxylic acid (8). The product was prepared as described
in the typical procedure for 3aꞌon a 10 mmol scale. The terphenyl ester compound was hydrolyzed in a
solution of KOH in 90% EtOH. When the hydrolysis completed, the poduct 8 was obtained as a white
solid upon the acidification with concentrated HCl in 71% yield (2.56 g for 8): m.p. > 300 °C
(decomposed); Rf = 0.33 (ethyl acetate/acetic acid = 100/1); IR (cm-1, KBr) 2989, 1682, 1557, 1393,
1277, 916, 822, 773; 1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ (ppm) 8.00-7.98 (m, 2H), 7.82-7.80 (m, 2H), 7.78-
7.76 (m, 2H), 7.72-7.70 (m, 2H), 7.64-7.62 (m, 2H), 7.01-6.99 (m, 2H), 3.98 (t, J = 6.5 Hz, 2H), 1.74-
13
1.67 (m, 2H), 1.42-1.36 (m, 2H), 1.35-1.28 (m, 2H), 0.87 (t, J = 7.2 Hz, 3H); C{1H} NMR (CDCl3,
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150 MHz) δ (ppm) 167.7, 159.1, 144.4, 140.2, 137.7, 132.1, 130.5, 128.3, 127.9, 127.2, 127.1, 115.5,
1
2
3
68.1, 28.9, 28.3, 22.4, 14.4, 0.6. Data was consistent with that reported in the literature.46
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ASSOCIATED CONTENT
Supporting Information
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Copies of HNMR, C{1H} NMR spectrafor all products. This material is available free of charge via
the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail: xinfangduan@vip.163.com
ORCID
Xin-Fang Duan: 0000-0003-1480-853X
Notes
+These two authors made an equal contribution to this work.
The authors declare the following competing financial interest(s): The authors have filed two patents on
this technology.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the National Science Foundation of China (21372031 and 21572022).
REFERENCES
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X. Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Non-activated and Functionalized Alkyl Halides with Alkyl Grignard
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Group Tolerant Kumada−Corriu−Tamao Coupling of Nonactivated Alkyl Halides with Aryl and Heteroaryl
Nucleophiles: Catalysis by a Nickel Pincer Complex Permits the Coupling of Functionalized Grignard
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(8) Bedford, R. B.; Hall, M. A.; Hodges, G. R.; Huwe, M.; Wilkinson, M. C. Simple mixed Fe-Zn catalysts for the
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