Ru(II)-catalyzed P(III)-assisted C8-alkylation of naphthphosphines.

We report a phosphine-directed ruthenium-catalyzed C8-selective alkylation of naphthalenes with alkenes. This protocol provides straightforward access to a large library of electron-rich C8-alkyl substituent 1-naphthphosphines, which outperformed common commercial phosphines and their precursors in the Pd-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of aryl bromides with alkylboronic acid.

Construction of Bulky Ligand Libraries by Ru(II)-Catalyzed P(III)-Assisted ortho-C-H Secondary Alkylation.

Modification of commercially available biaryl monophosphine ligands via ruthenium(II)-catalyzed P(III)-directed-catalyzed ortho C-H secondary alkylation is described. The use of highly ring-strained norbornene as a secondary alkylating reagent is the key to this transformation. A series of highly bulky ligands with a norbornyl group were obtained in excellent yields. The modified ligands with secondary alkyl group outperformed common substituted phosphines in the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction at a ppm mole level of Pd catalyst.