A mechanistic study on modern palladium catalyst precursors as new gateways to Pd(0) in cationic Heck reactions

Palladium-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of amides by carbon–nitrogen cleavage: general strategy for amide N–C bond activation

A unified strategy for the palladium-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling of amides with boronic acids for the synthesis of ketones by N–C bond activation is reported.

Charged tags as probes for analyzing organometallic intermediates and monitoring cross-coupling reactions by electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry

Organic iodides bearing a cationic quaternary ammonium group at a remote position react with zerovalent Pd complexes, Zn, or In leading to a C-I bond insertion. The resulting charge-tagged organometallics can be detected by electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry, which provides detailed information on their stoichiometry, oxidation state, and coordination sphere. The properties of the observed organopalladium and -zinc intermediates largely agree with previous findings, whereas the organoindium species show a surprisingly high tendency to form ate complexes. Magnesium also undergoes insertion into the C-I bond of the charge-tagged organic iodides, but instead of the expected organomagnesium intermediates only the corresponding hydrolysis products could be detected in the diluted solutions. Electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry can also be used to study the reactivity of the charge-tagged species, as was demonstrated for a Pd-catalyzed Negishi cross-coupling reaction. The presented approach permits a straightforward identification of the rate-limiting step and the determination of the corresponding second-order rate constant.

Venturi easy ambient sonic-spray ionization

The development and illustrative applications of an ambient ionization technique termed Venturi easy ambient sonic-spray ionization (V-EASI) is described. Its dual mode of operation with Venturi self-pumping makes V-EASI applicable to the direct mass spectrometric analysis of both liquid (V(L)-EASI) and solid (V(S)-EASI) samples. V-EASI is simple and easy to assemble, operating solely via the assistance of a sonic stream of nitrogen or air. The sonic gas stream causes two beneficial and integrated effects: (a) the self-pumping of solutions via the Venturi effect and (b) sonic-spray ionization (SSI) of analytes either in solution or resting on solid surfaces. In its liquid mode, V(L)-EASI is applicable to analytes in solution, forming negatively and/or positively charged intact molecular species in a soft fashion with little or no fragmentation. In its solid mode, V(S)-EASI relies on Venturi self-pumping of a proper SSI solvent solution in combination with SSI to form a stream of bipolar charged droplets that bombard the sample surface, causing desorption and ionization of the analyte molecules. As for its precursor technique (EASI), V-EASI generates bipolar droplets with considerably lower average charging, which increases selectivity for ionization with high signal-to-noise ratios and clean spectra dominated by single molecular species with minimal solvent ions. V-EASI also operates in a voltage-, heat-, and radiation-free fashion and is therefore free of thermal, electrical, or discharge interferences.

Microwave-promoted palladium(II)-catalyzed C-P bond formation by using arylboronic acids or aryltrifluoroborates

The first Pd(II)-catalyzed P arylation has been performed by using palladium acetate, the rigid bidentate ligand dmphen (dmphen=2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline), and without the addition of base or acid. Couplings of arylboronic acids or aryl trifluoroborates with H-phosphonate dialkyl esters were conducted in 30 min with controlled microwave (MW) heating under non-inert conditions. Aryl phosphites were also synthesized at room temperature with atmospheric air as the sole reoxidant. The arylated phosphonates were isolated in 44-90 % yields. The excellent chemoselectivity of the method was illustrated in the synthesis of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis glutamine synthetase (MTB-GS) inhibitor. Online ESIMS was used to detect cationic palladium species in ongoing reactions directly, and a catalytic cycle has been proposed based on these results.

Synthesis of styrenes by palladium(II)-catalyzed vinylation of arylboronic acids and aryltrifluoroborates by using vinyl acetate

One Heck of a reaction: Treatment of arylboronic acids or aryltrifluoroborates with vinyl acetate by using a palladium(II) catalyst gives the corresponding styrenes (see scheme). No palladium reoxidant is needed and the vinylation is performed under non-inert conditionsReactions of aromatic and heteroaromatic boronic acids or aryltrifluoroborate salts with vinyl acetate in the presence of a palladium(II) catalyst give the corresponding styrenes in good yields. This Heck reaction proceeds with microwave heating in less than 30 min at 140 degrees C in the absence of base and tolerates a variety of substituents. No palladium reoxidant is needed and the vinylation is performed under non-inert conditions. Mass spectrometry (electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESIMS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS)) was used to identify cationic palladium-containing complexes in ongoing reactions. The key intermediates that have been detected, together with experiments that used deuterated vinyl acetate, support the existence of catalytically active palladium hydride species, and that it is the arylation of ethylene, not vinyl acetate, which generates the styrene product. The mechanism of the reaction is discussed in terms of the palladium(II) intermediates mentioned above.

Pre-catalyst resting states: a kinetic, thermodynamic and quantum mechanical analyses of [PdCl2(2-oxazoline)2] complexes

The treatment of cold ( approximately 3 degrees C) methanolic solutions of Li(2)PdCl(4) with two equivalents of 2-phenyl-2-oxazoline (Phox) results in the isolation of [PdCl(2)(Phox)(2)] (3). This complex undergoes remarkably slow isomerisation (CHCl(3)-d) at room temperature to a corresponding thermodynamic form. In addition to a theoretical treatment (DFT), the isomerisation behaviour has been analysed both kinetically and thermodynamically. These investigations lead to the conclusion that the initially formed (i.e. kinetic) isomer of 3 is the cis-form which undergoes conversion to the corresponding thermodynamic trans-form via a dissociative (D) mechanism involving loss of a Phox ligand. The activation parameters DeltaS(double dagger) and DeltaH(double dagger) are found to be +304 (+/-3) J K(-1) mol(-1) and +176 (+/-1) kJ mol(-1), respectively and indicate a high barrier to Pd-N bond cleavage under these conditions. The thermodynamic parameters show the expected endothermic nature of this process (+140 +/- 17 kJ mol(-1)) and a slight positive overall entropy (DeltaS degrees = +17 +/- 2 J K(-1) mol(-1)); this latter parameter is presumably due to the formation of the lower dipole moment trans-product when compared to the cis-isomer. Calculated (DFT) values of DeltaG(double dagger) and DeltaH(double dagger) are in excellent agreement to those found experimentally. Further theoretical investigation suggests that two 14-electron three-coordinate T-shaped transition states (i.e., [PdCl(2)(Phox)](double dagger)) are involved; the form pre-disposed to yield the thermodynamic trans-product following re-attachment of the released oxazoline is found to be energetically favoured. The analogous alkyloxazoline system [PdCl(2)(Meox)(2)] (4: Meox = 2-methyl-2-oxazoline) has likewise been investigated. This material gives no indication of cis-trans isomerisation behaviour in solution (NMR) and is shown to exist (X-ray) in the trans-form in the solid-state (as do previously reported crystalline samples of 3). A DFT study of 4 reveals similar values of DeltaS(double dagger) and DeltaH(double dagger) if a D type mechanism were operating to rapidly convert cis- to trans-4. However, a significantly higher thermodynamic stability of the trans-isomer relative to the cis-form is revealed versus similar calculations of the Phox derivative 3. This suggests the possibility that (i) reactions of Meox with Li(2)PdCl(4) may lead directly to the trans-form of [PdCl(2)(Meox)(2)] or alternatively (ii) that alkyloxazoline complexes such as 4 may have a different, and presumably much more rapid, mechanism for isomerisation. The results are placed into the context that isomerisation behaviour, or lack thereof, could play a key preliminary role in later substrate modification. This is due to the fact that [PdX(2)(oxazoline)(2)] compounds are well-known (pre-)catalysts for C-C bond forming chemistry.