Catalytic activity of palladium(II) diaminocarbene complexes in the Sonogashira and Suzuki reactions

Palladium(II) complexes with chelating and non-chelating diaminocarbene ligands were assessed as catalysts in the cross-coupling reactions of haloarenes with oct-1-yne (Sonogashira reaction) and phenylboronic acid (Suzuki reaction). Both complexes exhibited a higher catalytic activity than traditional phosphine ligandbased systems in the Sonogashira reaction, and they ensured cross-coupling not only with iodoarenes but also with bromoarenes activated by electron-withdrawing substituents. The catalytic activities of the examined complexes in the Suzuki reaction were appreciably different: the palladium(II) complex with the chelating ligand turned out to be considerably less active than the complex with the non-chelating ligand.