Palladium-catalysed Cross Coupling Reactions in Non-conventional Solvents

5 Palladium-catalysed Cross Coupling Reactions in Non-conventional Solvents 

Palladium-catalysed cross-coupling reactions of organometals represent the most important and efficient carbon-carbon bond construction methodology 

In the past decade protocols for palladium-catalysed cross coupling reactions have been successfully developed in alternative media that make catalyst recovery easier and minimize environmental impact. A comprehensive review covers the most important contributions in this field. 

The palladium-catalysed arylation of olefins with aryl halides, the Heck reaction, is usually performed in polar solvents such as acetonitrile or dimethyl sulfoxide, in combination with a base and a Pd(ii) pre-catalyst that may or may not be associated with a phosphorus ligand. Given that quaternary ammonium or phosphonium salts are known to increase reaction rates, ILs emerged as promising solvents for this reaction.In the case of imidazolium-based ionic liquids, the solvent, beside providing an unusual coulombic environment. 

A different example of triphasic catalysis for the Heck, Stille and Suzuki reactions relied on a three-phase microemulsion/sol-gel transport system. Gelation of an z-octyl(triethoxy)silane, tetramethoxysilane and Pd(OAc)2 mixture in a H2O/CH2CI2 system led to a hydrophobicitized sol-gel matrix that entrapped a phosphine-free Pd(ii) precatalyst. The immobilized precatalyst was added to a preformed microemulsion obtained by mixing the hydrophobic components of a cross coupling reaction with water, sodium dodecyl sulfate and a co-surfactant, typically zz-propanol or butanol. This immobilized palladium catalyst was leach proof and easily recyclable. 

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