Iron-Catalyzed Direct Arylation

Charette et al. have reported an iron-catalyzed direct arylation of unactivated arenes with aryl iodides. The reaction proceeded by an environmentally friendly catalytic system composed of iron(II) acetate (5 mol%) and bathophenanthroline (10 mol%). Mechanistic evidence suggested that the arylation proceeded through a radical process analogous to a metal-catalyzed living radical polymerization reaction.