Cross coupling

Patent Granted A coupling reaction in organic chemistry is a catch-all term for a variety of reactions where two hydrocarbon fragments are coupled with the aid of a metal catalyst. In one important reaction type a main group organometallic compound of the type RM (R = organic fragment, M = main group centre) reacts with an organic halide of the type R'X with formation of a new carbon-carbon bond in the product R-R' [1] Contributions to coupling reactions by Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki were recognized with the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which was shared with Richard F. Heck.[2] Broadly speaking, two types of coupling reactions are recognized: cross couplings involve reactions between two different partners, for example bromobenzene (PhBr) and vinyl chloride to give styrene (PhCH=CH2). homocouplings couple two identical partners, for example, the conversion of iodobenzene (PhI) to biphenyl (Ph-Ph).