[reaction: see text] A chiral indium complex has been discovered to effect high enantioselectivities in the addition of allyltributylstannanes to ketones. The allylation of a variety of aromatic, alpha,beta-unsaturated and aliphatic ketones resulted in good yields and high enantioselectivities (up to 92% ee).

Cobalt 'n' cross-coupling! A facile and practical strategy catalyzed by CoCl(2)6 H(2)O has been developed for the N-arylation of nitrogen nucleophiles with substituted aryl halides in water. The protocol is very simple and requires only mild conditions. A variety of nitrogen nucleophiles, including pyrazole, indole, and 7-azaindole, undergo catalysis to afford N-arylated products in moderate to good yields (up to 86 %; see scheme).

A practical and efficient strategy for the N-arylation of benzamide catalysed by a Co(C2O4)·2H2O/dmeda system in water is reported. Under the optimized conditions, a wide variety of N-arylated products were obtained in good yields (up to 92%) using substituted aryl iodides.

A chiral indium complex has been discovered to effect high enantioselectivities in the addition of allyltributyl stannanes to aldehydes. The allylation of a variety of aromatic, alpha,beta-unsaturated and aliphatic aldehydes resulted in good yields and high enantioselectivities (90-96% ee).