Strong Metallophilic Interactions in the Palladium Arylation by Gold Aryls

Abstract

It's the second step that counts: arylation of Pd by Au takes place through transition states and intermediates featuring strong Au⋅⋅⋅Pd metallophilic interactions. However, the aryl transfer from [AuArL] to [PdArClL(2)] is thermodynamically disfavored and will not occur unless an irreversible Ar-Ar coupling from [PdAr(2)L(2)] follows.