By using an iron-based catalyst, access to enantioenriched 1,1-diarylakanes was enabled through an enantioselective Suzuki-Miyaura crosscoupling reaction. The combination of a chiral cyanobis(oxazoline) ligand framework and 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene additive were essential to afford high yields and enantioselectivities in cross-coupling reactions between unactivated aryl boronic esters and a variety of benzylic chlorides, including challenging ortho-substituted benzylic chloride substrates. Mechanistic investigations implicate a stereoconvergent pathway involving carbon-centered radical intermediates.
