Generally applicable and efficient oxidative Heck reaction of arylboronic acids with olefins catalyzed by cyclopalladated ferrocenylimine under base- and ligand-free conditions

A mild and efficient method for oxidative Heck-type reaction of arylboronic acids with olefins catalyzed by cyclopalladated ferrocenylimine was developed. The results represent the first examples involving the palladacycle as the catalyst for such couplings. Moreover, the catalytic system could tolerate various functional groups, such as F, Cl, Br, NO₂ and CH₃O, and the substrates could be extended to a wide range of olefins from acrylic esters, α,β-unsaturated ketones to alkenes. Furthermore, the olefination could proceed well under base- and ligand-free conditions and employ oxygen as the environmentally benign oxidant.