Homo-coupling reactions of alkenyl- and arylfluorosilanes mediated by a copper(I) salt

Homo-coupling reactions of an alkenyl- or arylsilane readily occur with a copper(I) salt in an aprotic polar solvent such as N, N-dimethylformamide or dimethyl sulfoxide under an aerobic condition to give the corresponding conjugated dienes or biaryls, respectively. Optimization of a copper salt and a solvent for the homo-coupling reaction is discussed. The formation of the organocopper intermediates is evidenced by trapping experiments with iodine and by a conjugate addition to methyl vinyl ketone.