Palladium-catalyzed carbonylative coupling of aryl iodides with an organocopper reagent: a straightforward procedure for the synthesis of aryl trifluoromethyl ketones

Abstract

A palladium-catalyzed carbonylative coupling of aryl iodides with a (trifluoromethyl)copper reagent has been developed. A wide range of substrates have been transformed into their corresponding trifluoromethyl ketones in good to excellent yields under mild conditions with high efficiency and excellent functional-group compatibility. Preliminary mechanistic investigations suggest that the transmetallation of an acylpalladium intermediate with the (trifluoromethyl)copper reagent seems to be involved in the catalytic cycle. Notably, this report represents one of the few studies on carbonylative coupling with organocopper reagents.