Triflates arylpalladium complexes, oxidative addition

The basic mechanism of the Heck reaction (as shown below) of aryl or alkenyl halides or triflates involves initial oxidative addition of a pal-ladium(O) species to afford a a-arylpalladium(II) complex III. The order of reactivity for the oxidative addition step is I > OTf > Br > Cl. Coordination of an alkene IV and subsequent carbon-carbon bond formation by syn addition provide a a-alkylpalladium(II) intermediate VI, which readily undergoes 3-hydride elimination to release the product VIII. A base is required for conversion of the hydridopalla-dium(II) complex IX to the active palladium(O) catalyst I to complete the catalytic cycle. 

The synthesis of unsymmetrical biaryls 8 from two monoaryl species involves the coupling of a metallated aromatic molecule 6 with an aryl halide or triflate 4 under the action of palladium(O) catalysis. The reaction involves a catalytic cycle in which palladium(O) inserts into the C-halogen bond via an oxidative addition to generate an arylpalladium(II) species 5 (Scheme 10.18). This undergoes a trans-metallation with the metallated component, producing a biarylpalladi-um(II) complex 7. The biaryl product is formed by reductive elimination. In the process, Pd(0) is regenerated and this can then react with a second molecule of aryl halide. Pd(0) is therefore a catalyst for the reaction. 

C-0 bond cleavage of aryl triflates or tosylates is also studied in relation to Mizoroki-Heck type reactions [101], Oxidative addition of PhOTf to Pd(PPh3)4 is 10 times slower than that of Phi. Since similar trend is observed for the catalytic Mizoroki-Heck reaction, the oxidative addition of aryl compound is considered to be the rate-determining step in the overall catalytic process. This feature suggests that the C-0 bond cleavage of aryl triflate proceeds by the concerted SNAr mechanism. However, since the triflate normally acts as a non-coordinating anion, thermally unstable cationic arylpalladium(II) complexes are formed in this reaction (Scheme 3.54). 

B.ii. Structure of Arylpalladium(II) Complexes Formed in Oxidative Addition to Aryl Halides/Triflates as a Function of the Precursors of the Palladium(O) and the Ligand... 

---