Synthesis and characterization of 1-phenyl-3-alkylbenzimidazol-2-ylidene salts and their catalytic activities in the Heck and Suzuki cross-coupling reactions

The synthesis and characterization of 1-phenyl-3-alkyl-substituted carbene precursors that were prepared from 1-phenyl substituted benzimidazole and various alkyl halides are reported. The new benzimidazolium salts (1a–e) were characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, FT-IR spectroscopic methods and elemental analyses. New in situ generated palladium-benzimidazolium complexes were tested for catalytic activity in the Mizoroki-Heck and Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions.