C–C Bond Elimination from High-Valent Mn Aryl Complexes

Manganese complexes have been considered as a cheap and readily available alternative to commonly used precious metal catalysts in C–C bond coupling reactions. Although high-valent Mn aryl intermediates have been proposed in such reactions, a mechanistic understanding of possible organometallic intermediates in Mn-mediated C–C coupling is still lacking due to their high reactivity. We report the synthesis of stable, isolable Mn(III) aryl complexes obtained by oxidative addition of aryl bromide or aryl chloride. These complexes react with a range of organometallic alkylating or arylating reagents (alkyl and aryl Grignard reagents, MeLi, ZnMe2) to undergo C(sp2)–C(sp3) or C(sp2)–C(sp2) bond coupling, and a preliminary catalytic system could be demonstrated. The reagent scope and yield of the C(sp2)–C(sp3) coupled product can further be increased by addition of TEMPO as an oxidant, generating alkyl radicals.