Use of Phenyl-substituted Cyclopentadienyl Rhodium Complexes in the C–H Activation

Rhodium complexes with phenyl-substituted cyclopentadienyl ligands often remain underestimated in the study of C–H bond activation reactions due to their low catalytic efficiency. In this work, we demonstrate that the low catalytic efficiency is due to the low solubility of these complexes and can be significantly improved by using silver salts as additives. A protocol for the annulation of 4-methyl-N-(pivaloyloxy)benzamide with norbornene catalyzed by rhodium complexes with di- and triphenyl-substituted cyclopentadienyl ligands is developed.