Copper-catalyzed direct alkylation of 1,3-azoles with N-tosylhydrazones bearing a ferrocenyl group: a novel method for the synthesis of ferrocenyl-based ligands.

Copper-catalyzed cross-coupling of ferrocenyl ketone-derived N-tosylhydrazones with benzo[d]oxazole leads to the direct C-H bond functionalization by a secondary ferrocenyl alkyl group. This direct C-H bond alkylation of azoles with N-tosylhydrazones bearing a ferrocenyl group uses inexpensive CuBr as the catalyst without any ligand. The reaction is operationally simple and conducted under mild conditions, giving the corresponding ferrocenyl-based ligands in moderate to good yields. Furthermore, they were able to act as bidentate ligands, giving rise to the corresponding palladium chelated complex 6a-6c, which were obtained by reaction of 5a-5c with [PdCl2(MeCN)2].