Stabilised arylzinc iodide, prepared by direct insertion of zinc into aryl iodides, were used as nucleophiles in the Hayashi Rh‐catalysed enantioselective conjugate addition to enones. The reaction conditions were optimized in the addition of phenylzinc iodide to 2‐cyclohexen‐1‐one, obtaining good yields and 99% ee of the addition product. The general applicability of the protocol was checked using different arylzinc iodides and enones. Organometallic reagents endowed with both halogen and electrophilic groups were also successfully used.
The work is available at the following link: https://doi.org/10.1002/adsc.202001141
