Diethylzinc-Amylates – Selective Halogen-Zinc Exchange Reagents at Room-Temperature

The cheapest available organozinc species (diethylzinc) – yet rarely employed in halogen-Zn exchanges – is used in a combination with amylate salts to generate new overtime stable reagents that allow smooth iodide-zinc exchange at room temperature, preventing therefore the need for fastidious and time-consuming preparation of complex mixtures. The scope of the reaction has been explored on polyfunctionalized alkenes (including sensitive cyclobutenes, steroids and glycals), aryls and heteroaryls.