Visible light-promoted iron-catalyzed C(sp2)-C(sp3) Kumada cross-coupling in flow

Abstract

A continuous‐flow, visible‐light‐promoted method has been developed to overcome the limitations of iron‐catalyzed Kumada–Corriu cross‐coupling reactions. A variety of strongly electron rich aryl chlorides, previously hardly reactive, could be efficiently coupled with aliphatic Grignard reagents at room temperature in high yields and within a few minutes’ residence time, considerably enhancing the applicability of this iron‐catalyzed reaction. The robustness of this protocol was demonstrated on a multigram scale, thus providing the potential for future pharmaceutical application.