Biaryls cobalt bromide

Electroreduction of the cobalt(II) salt in a mixture of either dimethylform-amide-pyridine or acetonitrile-pyridine as solvent, often in the presence of bipyridine, produces a catalytically active cobalt(I) complex which is believed to be cobalt(I) bromide with attached bipyridine ligands (or pyridine moieties in the absence of bipyridine). As quickly as it is electrogenerated, the active catalyst reduces an aryl halide, after which the resulting aryl radical can undergo coupling with an acrylate ester [141], a different aryl halide (to form a biaryl compound) [142], an activated olefin [143], an allylic carbonate [144], an allylic acetate [144, 145], or a... 

Metal-catalysed biaryl formation continues to be of interest, and there has been a theoretical study of reactivity and regioselectivity in biaryl formation involving the cleavage of carbon-hydrogen bonds by a concerted metalation-deprotonation pathway. Various combinations of metal/ligand/base have been evaluated for the arylation of benzene with aryl bromides at high temperatures and pressures. The combination of cobalt(III) acetylacetonate and lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide proved to be effective. ... 

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