Addition of aryl substituents to cyclohexadienyliron electrophiles in the development of routes to C12 central building blocks for alkaloid synthesis

Abstract Novel iron–aroyl complexes or synthetically prized arylcyclohexadienyl complexes can be formed from tricarbonyl(η 5 -1,4-dimethoxycyclohexadienyl)iron(1+) hexafluorophosphate(1−) by correct control of reaction sequences that exploit the addition of aryllithium reagents to introduce the aromatic group. Bimetallic products are obtained when a tricarbonylchromium-bound aryllithium reagent or the corresponding cuprate are employed.