Ž . Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 161 2000 239–243 www.elsevier.comrlocatermolcata Letter Coupling reactions between acyl chlorides and Grignard reagents ž / in the presence of a supported Fe III -complex Maria Michela Dell’Anna a , Piero Mastrorilli a , Cosimo F. Nobile a, ) , Giuseppe Marchese b , Maria Rosaria Taurino a a Centro di Studi CNR sulle Metodologie InnoÕatiÕe di Sintesi Organiche M.I.S.O., Istituto di Chimica del Politecnico di Bari, TraÕ. 200 e DaÕid, Õia E. Orabona, 4 I-70125 Bari, Italy b Centro di Studi CNR sulle Metodologie InnoÕatiÕe di Sintesi Organiche M.I.S.O., Dipartimento di Chimica dell’UniÕersita degli Studi di ` Bari, Õia E. Orabona, 4 I-70125 Bari, Italy Received 22 February 2000; accepted 9 May 2000 Abstract Ž . Ž . w y The polymer-supported Fe III complex obtained by copolymerization of Fe AAEMA AAEMA sdeprotonated form 3 Ž . x of 2- acetoacetoxy ethyl methacrylate with suitable acrylamides facilitates the coupling reaction between acyl chlorides and Grignard reagents, affording ketones with yields up to 96%. q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Coupling reactions; Grignard reagents; Ketones; Acyl chlorides; Supported catalysts 1. Introduction The metal-catalysed cross-coupling reaction be- tween an organometallic reagent and an organic halide is a widely used method for the formation of w x new carbon–carbon bonds 1,2 . Recent examples of such couplings count the reaction between triflates and alkyl cuprates in the presence of catalytic amount Ž. wx of copper I halides 3 , the reaction between unsatu- rated alkyl bromides and diethylzinc in the presence Ž . wx of Ni acac rLiI 4 and the reaction between Grig- 2 nard reagents and alkyl bromides in the presence of ) Corresponding author. Tel.: q 39-080-5963608; fax: q 39- 080-5963611. Ž . E-mail address: nobile@area.ba.cnr-it C.F. Nobile .  w Ž . catalytic amount of Li MnCl CH CH NMe - 2 6 3 2 2 2 x4 wx 2,6 5 . However, while the use of soluble com- plexes to promote this reaction is well established, homogeneous catalysts are generally connected with problems of separation, recovery and regeneration of the catalysts. To the best of our knowledge, the reported at- tempts to run coupling reactions with a heteroge- Ž . neous catalyst are represented by the use of Pd II wx wx complexes anchored onto zeolites 6 , glass beads 7 wx or molecular sieves 8 as catalysts for the Heck reactions between aryl halides and olefins, or the coupling reaction of substituted chlorobenzene lead- ing to biphenyls catalysed by coal-supported palla- wx dium 9 . In the last years, we have studied the catalytic activity of new materials obtained by thermal 1381-1169r00r$ - see front matter q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Ž . PII: S1381-1169 00 00268-5