Design of a Versatile and Improved Precatalyst Scaffold for Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling: (η³-1-^tBu-indenyl)₂(μ-Cl)₂Pd₂

Abstract

We describe the development of (η3-1-tBu-indenyl)2(μ-Cl)2Pd2, a versatile precatalyst scaffold for Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling. Our new system is more active than commercially available (η3-cinnamyl)2(μ-Cl)2Pd2 and is compatible with a range of NHC and phosphine ligands. Precatalysts of the type (η3-1-tBu-indenyl)Pd(Cl)(L) can either be isolated through the reaction of (η3-1-tBu-indenyl)2(μ-Cl)2Pd2 with the appropriate ligand or generated in situ, which offers advantages for ligand screening. We show that the (η3-1-tBu-indenyl)2(μ-Cl)2Pd2 scaffold generates highly active systems for a number of challenging cross-coupling reactions. The reason for the improved catalytic activity of systems generated from the (η3-1-tBu-indenyl)2(μ-Cl)2Pd2 scaffold compared to (η3-cinnamyl)2(μ-Cl)2Pd2 is that inactive PdI dimers are not formed during catalysis.