Role of dimethylformamide in generating the active form of platinum for catalyzing the synthesis of diaryls from aryl iodides

A mechanism is proposed for the reaction of aryl iodides with platinum(II) tetrachloride complexes in dimethylformamide including formation of PtCl₃(CONMe₂)²⁻ in the first step through activation of a dimethylformamide C−H bond by platinum(II) and subsequent oxidative addition of ArI to this species. L. M. Litvinenko Institute of Physical Organic and Coal Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 70 Lyuksemburg ul., Donetsk 340114, Ukraine. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 244–246, July–August, 1998.