A highly reactive alkylrhodium complex was formed from Me(2)Zn and RhCl(PPh(3))(3) and effectively catalyzed a Csp(3)-Csp(3) homocoupling reaction of benzyl halides. A Csp(3)-Csp(3) coupling reaction using Rh catalyst has not been reported up to now. The reaction proceeded under very mild conditions and gave the corresponding homocoupling products even if they had reactive substituents such as an uncovered formyl or hydroxymethyl group.
1,3-Diketones were synthesized from alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones by treatment with acid chlorides and Et(2)Zn in the presence of RhCl(PPh(3))3. This is a very simple and extremely chemoselective reaction to give the adduct at the alpha-position of alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones.
The combination of Et2Zn and RhCl(PPh3)3 led to the facile generation of a rhodium-hydride complex (Rh-H) that catalyzed the 1,4-reduction of α,β-unsaturated esters. The resulting rhodium enolate performed as a Reformatsky-type reagent and reacted with various imines to give syn-β-lactams in good to excellent yields with high diastereoselectivity.
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