Iron-catalyzed Methylation of Arylboron Compounds with Iodomethane

Abstract

The iron-catalyzed methylation of arylboron compounds has been developed for the first time using iodomethane (CH3I) as the electrophile. In the presence of catalytic amounts of an iron–bisphosphine complex and MgBr2, Suzuki–Miyaura-type cross-coupling reactions of CH3I with various arylboron compounds proceed smoothly under mild conditions to afford the corresponding methylated aromatic compounds in good yields.