Harnessing Organopotassium Reagents for Cross-Coupling with YPhos-Pd Catalysts: Opportunities, Applications, and Challenges

With advances in the applications of earth-abundant organopotassium reagents in C-C bond forming processes, this study pioneers Pd-catalyzed cross coupling reactions between aryl halides and a range of aryl and benzylpotassium species generated by direct C-H metalation. Key for the success of this approach is the use of electron-rich ylide-substituted phosphine (YPhos) ligands, which enable fast conversion of the potassium species in solution. This protocol can be carried out in a one-pot manner at room temperature, without the need for purification of the in situ prepared organopotassium compounds or any additional additives, enabling the isolation of a broad scope of coupling products even on a gram-scale.

Palladium-Catalyzed Coupling of Aryl Chlorides with Secondary Phosphines to Construct Unsymmetrical Tertiary Phosphines

The functionalization of the C-Cl bond in unactivated aryl chlorides under mild conditions presents a significant challenge. We disclose a general protocol for constructing both partially and entirely unsymmetrical tertiary phosphines through the Pd/keYPhos-catalyzed coupling of aryl chlorides with secondary phosphines under mild conditions. The reaction exhibits excellent functional group tolerance and broad substrate scopes. Furthermore, the rapid synthesis of ligands and luminescent compound sTPPs, alongside gram-scale systhesis, demonstrates the practical applicability of this method.