Copper(II)-catalyzed preparation of alkylindium compounds and applications in cross-coupling reactions both in aqueous media

An efficient water-based method for the synthesis of alkylindium compound in the presence of a catalytic amount of cheap and readily available CuSO₄·5H₂O (10 mol%) was developed. The thus-generated alkylindium compounds effectively underwent palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions with a myriad of aryl halides in aqueous media, leading to the cross-coupled products in modest to high yields. The mildness of the formed alkyl organometallics allowed the tolerance to various important functional groups incorporated in both substrates of alkyl iodides and aryl halides.