Tetra-«-octylammonium bromide

The development of Pd colloids as catalyst for C—C coupling reactions is rather recent [5]. The first example was reported by BeUer et al. in 1996 they used preformed Pd coUoids stabihsed by tetra-octylammonium bromide prepared following the Bonneman procedure in the Heck arylation [6]. The colloidal system was effective for the Heck arylation of styrene or butyl acrylate by activated aryl bromides, but showed only moderate to little activity for deactivated aryl bromides and aryl chlorides. To obtain these results, the authors found that the colloidal pre-catalysts must be added slowly to the reaction mixture to avoid the formation of inactive palladium black at the beginning of the reaction. 

Coggan and coworkers also reported a process for produdng Pd/Cu nanoparticles stabilised by tetra-octylammonium bromides and used them as catalysts in the Suzuki reaction [45, 46]. Various Pd/Cu ratios were studied, a 1 1 ratio giving the most active catalysts. 

Alkynes have been prepared from 1,1- and 1,2-dihaloalkanes and from haloalkenes under the influence of a quaternary ammonium salt geminal- and vic-dibromoalkanes are converted into alkynes under liquid liquid [10, 11] and soliddiquid [12-14] conditions with Aliquat or tetra-n-octylammonium bromide... 

Benzophenones are produced by the oxidation of diarylmethanes under basic conditions [6-9], The initial step requires a strongly basic medium to ionize the methane and the more lipophilic quaternary ammonium catalysts are preferred (Aliquat and tetra-n-octylammonium bromide are better catalysts than tetra-n-butyl-ammonium bromide). The oxidation and oxidative dehydrogenation of partially reduced arenes to oxo derivatives in a manner similar to that used for the oxidation of diarylmethanes has been reported, e.g. fluorene is converted into fluorenone (100%), and 9,10-dihydroanthracene and l,4,4a,9a-tetrahydroanthraquinone into anthraquinone (75% and 100%, respectively) [6]. 

The highly hydrophilic alcohols, pentaerythritol and 2-ethyl-2-hydroxymethyl-propan-l,3-diol, can be converted into their corresponding ethers in good yields under phase-transfer catalytic conditions [12]. Etherification of pentaerythritol tends to yield the trialkoxy derivative and kinetics of the reaction have been shown to be controlled by the solubility of the ammonium salt of the tris-ether in the organic phase and the equilibrium between the tris-ether and its sodium salt [13]. Total etherification of the tetra-ol is attained in good yield when reactive haloalkanes are used, and tetra-rt-octylammonium, in preference to tetra-n-butylammonium, bromide [12, 13]. 

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