Palladium on carbon as a precatalyst for the Suzuki–Miyuara cross-coupling of aryl chlorides

Abstract Palladium on carbon is used as a precatalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura reaction of aryl chlorides and aryl boronic acids. An efficient catalyst system is obtained that allows the reaction of substrates that are difficult to couple under ligand free conditions. This includes electron rich and sterically hindered aryl chlorides as well as electron deficient and sterically hindered boronic acids. We have discovered that the amount of ligand needed to catalyze these reactions can be significantly decreased by incorporating an incubation period. This study also provides valuable insight into the mechanism of the Pd/C-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling. For example, mercury poisoning studies provide evidence that the active catalytic species is homogeneous. However, catalyst reuse and low metal contamination indicate that this system retains many of the advantages of a heterogeneous catalyst. From these results, a catalytic cycle is proposed.