Patent ID: 7910783

Claim:
A process for preparing a chelating ligand of the formula (II) from a chelating ligand of the formula (I) via an sp 2 -sp 2 or sp 2 -sp 3 coupling reaction comprising contacting, optionally in the presence of a coupling catalyst, a chelating ligand of the formula (I) with an organometallic compound of the formula (III): wherein B is a bridging group that is bonded to L 1 and L 2 in formula (I) and to L 3 and L 4 in formula (II); L 1 is a substituted monocyclic or polycyclic ligand that comprises at least one chlorine, bromine, iodine, or sulfonate substituent, directly bonded to an sp 2 carbon atom of the ring structure of the ligand; L 2 is a monoanionic ligand; or L 2 may, independently, be defined as L 1 ; L 3 is the same group as L 1 , but said at least one chlorine, bromine, iodine, or sulfonate substituent is replaced with a hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, halocarbyl, or substituted halocarbyl fragment; L 4 is the same group as L 2 , though, when L 2 is defined as L 1 , L 4 may be the same as L 3 or L 1 ; R 1 is a hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, halocarbyl, or substituted halocarbyl; M 1 is an element of group 1, 2, 12, 13 or 14 of the Periodic Table of the Elements; each X 2 , if present, is selected independently from the group consisting of halogen atoms, the hydroxyl group, alkoxy groups, aryloxy groups, mesylate, tosylate and triflate; r is 1, 2 or 3, and t is 0, 1 or 2, where r+t corresponds to the oxidation number of M 1 .