Kinetic Aspects of Suzuki Cross-Coupling Using Ligandless Pd Nanoparticles Embedded in Aromatic Polymeric Matrix

During the last decades, palladium nanoparticles (Pd(0) NPs) and Pd(II) compounds were shown to be attractive catalysts for fine organic synthesis. Nanostructured Pd(0) or Pd(II) catalysts have a relatively low environmental impact, but, at the same time, they are indispensable for such processes as Suzuki cross-coupling. This paper describes the preparation of Pd(0) or Pd(II) supported/embedded in hyper-cross-linked polystyrene (HPS) and compares their activity in Suzuki cross-coupling between phenylboronic acid and 4-bromoanisole. Obviously, the palladium charge (Pd(0) ↔ Pd(II)) changes continuously during the reaction catalytic cycle. It would seem that the use of the starting palladium in the form of Pd(0) or Pd(II) should not affect the reaction’s kinetic laws for both catalysts, but their special individuality is manifested between them. Nanoparticulate Pd(0) catalysts are stable during the reaction. In contrast, catalysts based on Pd(II) are extremely active in the initial period of the reaction, but then the “hot form” of the catalyst is rapidly converted into the form of Pd(0), whose activity is identical to that of the preliminarily reduced catalyst. This work discusses the possible nature of this phenomenon. A mathematical model for Suzuki cross-coupling reaction was suggested that was able to adequately describe experimental data. The level of reliability (R2) of the correlation between the experimental and calculated data was R2 = 0.97–0.99.

Kinetic Study of the Herrmann–Beller Palladacycle-Catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling of 4-Iodoacetophenone and Phenylboronic Acid

This article presents an experimental kinetic study of the Suzuki–Miyaura reaction of 4-iodoacetophenone with phenylboronic acid catalyzed by the Herrmann–Beller palladacycle. This catalyst, together with the solvent (ethanol) and the base (sodium methylate), were chosen to ensure catalyst stability and reactants solubility all along the reaction. Based on the study of initial reaction rates, a quasi-first-order was found for 4-iodoacetophenone with a first-order dependence on the initial concentration of palladium. A zero-order was found for the base and the phenylboronic acid. The oxidative addition step of the mechanism was thus considered as the rate determining step. A global rate law was derived and validated quantitatively. A global activation energy, with an average value of ca. 63 kJ/mol was determined.