Scope and utility of a new soluble copper catalyst [CuBr-LiSPh-LiBr-THF]: A comparison with other copper catalysts in their ability to couple one equivalent of a grignard reagent with an alkyl sulfonate

A mixture of equal amounts of CuBr-SMe(2), LiBr, and LiSPh in THF at 0 degrees C furnished a new soluble copper catalyst that was highly efficient at coupling primary, secondary, tertiary, aryl, vinyl, and allylic Grignard reagents to primary tosylates and primary Grignard reagents to secondary tosylates and mesylates, all with the use of only 1 equiv of Grignard reagent. The new catalyst was shown to be much more reactive than copper catalysts CuBr and Li2CuCl4 and more efficient in the transference of secondary and tertiary alkyl groups than lower order cuprates (Gilman reagents) and demonstrated more reactivity than the lower order cuprates with its ability to couple primary Grignard reagents to secondary sulfonates. The Grignard reagent/catalyst system was compatible with an ester functionalized tosylate, thus proving to be more chemoselective than a Grignard reagent without the catalyst. The catalyst exhibited good reactivity below room temperature, and with the addition of 6% v/v of HMPA to the catalyst solution, excellent yields of coupled product were obtained within a 25-67 degrees C temperature range. H-1 NMR demonstrated that the catalyst solution consisted of several species that most likely were composed of copper ligated with thiophenol, THF, and LiBr in aggregated forms.