Rhodium-Catalyzed Arylzincation of Alkynes: Ligand Control of 1,4‑Migration Selectivity

The addition of arylzinc reagents ArZnCl 1 to alkynes 2 was found to be catalyzed by rhodium complexes in the presence of a catalytic amount of zinc chloride. The selectivity in giving 2-arylalkenylzinc species 3 or ortho-alkenylarylzinc species 4, the latter of which is generated through 1,4-Rh migration from alkenyl to aryl in the catalytic cycle, is controlled by the ligands on rhodium. Ligands cod and binap gave 3 and 4, respectively, with high selectivity.