Ni- or Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of alkyl fluorides with Grignard reagents.

n-Octyl fluoride underwent a cross-coupling reaction with n-propylmagnesium bromide in the presence of 1,3-butadiene using NiCl2 as a catalyst at room temperature to give undecane in moderate yields. This alkyl-alkyl cross-coupling proceeded more efficiently when CuCl2 was employed instead of NiCl2. Addition of 1,3-butadiene dramatically improved the yields of the coupling products from primary alkyl Grignard reagents in both Ni- and Cu-catalyzed reactions. Alkyl fluorides efficiently reacted with tertiary alkyl and phenyl Grignard reagents using CuCl2 in the absence of 1,3-butadiene to afford the coupling products in high yields. The competitive reaction of a mixture of alkyl halides (R-X; X = F, Cl, Br) with nC5H11MgBr showed that the reactivities of the halides increase in the order R-Cl < R-F < R-Br. In contrast, in the Cu-catalyzed reaction with PhMgBr, the reactivities increase in the order R-Cl < R-Br < R-F.