Herein, we report a concise method for the preparation of functionalized cyclopentadienyl
rhodium complexes via Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling. We successfully converted 2,3,4,5-tetramethylcyclopent-2-en-1-one
into the corresponding cyclopentadienylboronic acid pinacol ester, which could be
used as a coupling partner with aryl halides. Several functionalized cyclopentadienyl
rhodium complexes were synthesized in two steps from readily available aryl bromides.
We also demonstrated the rapid synthesis of a novel chiral cyclopentadienyl rhodium
complex that could be used as a precatalyst for an asymmetric C–H functionalization
reaction.
Key words
rhodium - cyclopentadienyl ligands - cross coupling - asymmetric catalysis - C–H functionalization