Patent ID: 7084273

Claim:
A process for preparing a compound of the formula (I) where X is —CH═CH—, —CR═CH—, —CR═CR—, N—H, N—R 1 , O, S or Se; R is the same or different at each occurrence and is F, Cl, Br, NO 2 , CN, a straight-chain or branched or cyclic alkyl or alkoxy group having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, in each of which one or more nonadjacent CH 2 groups is optionally replaced by —O—, —S—, —NR 1 —, or —CONR 2 —, and in each of which one or more hydrogen atoms is optionally replaced by F, or an aryl or heteroaryl group having from 4 to 14 carbon atoms which is optionally substituted by one or more nonaromatic radicals R; and a plurality of substituents R, either on the same ring or on the two different rings, optionally together form a further mono- or polycyclic ring system; R 1 and R 2 are the same or different and are each H or an aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon radical having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, a is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, b is 0, 1 or 2, which comprises reacting a compound of the formula (Ia) with a compound of the formula (Ib) where the radicals X, R, a and b are each as defined above, in a dipolar protic solvent, an etherified derivative derived therefrom or N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP), at temperatures in the range from 160 to 220° C. and a concentration of the iridium reactant (based on iridium) in the range from 0.05 to 1.00 mol/l, the concentration of the ligand used (aryl-pyridyl derivative) being a factor of from 4 to 20 higher than that of the iridium reactant, for a period of from 20 to 100 hours.