Highly active oxime-derived palladacycle complexes for Suzuki-Miyaura and Ullmann-type coupling reactions

Oxime-derived chloro-bridged palladacycles 12 and 13 are efficient complexes for the Suzuki-Miyaura reactions of aryl-, allyl-, and benzyl halides with arylboronic acids. The isolated catalysts are thermally stable, not sensitive to air or moisture, and easily accessible from inexpensive starting materials. The reaction can be performed under aerobic conditions with aryl bromides and chlorides, displaying turnover numbers (TON) of up to 5 x 10(5) and turnover frequencies (TOF) of up to 198 000 h(-1) for aryl bromides. Aryl chlorides undergo the Suzuki reaction with arylboronic acids with TON of up to 4700 and TOF up to 4700 h(-1). Even inexpensive and readily available benzyl and allyl chlorides undergo the coupling reaction with good turnover numbers. Complexes of 12 catalyze the syntheses of symmetrical biaryls in good yields via reductive coupling of iodoarenes in the presence of Hünig's base.