The Resurrection of Murahashi Coupling after Four Decades

Since the discovery of the pioneering cross-coupling name reactions in the 1970s, cross-coupling involving organolithium reagents (Murahashi coupling) has been neglected for more than 30 years. It was considered to be a technically nonpractical reaction based on the poor selectivity, because of the high reactivity and low functional group tolerance of the organolithium coupling partner. In this Review, we shall provide a comprehensive update on the renaissance of Murahashi coupling that enabled chemists to overcome many difficulties by using modern catalytic systems, in conjunction with the development of appropriate reaction conditions. As the resurrection of Murahashi coupling has occurred mainly due to Feringa’s work, this transformation may be considered as Murahashi–Feringa coupling.