Homeopathic Ligand-Free Palladium as a Catalyst in the Heck Reaction. A Comparison with a Palladacycle

Ligand-free Pd(OAc)2 can be used as a catalyst in the Heck reaction of aryl bromides as long as the amount of catalyst is kept between 0.01 and 0.1 mol %. At higher concentrations palladium black forms and the reaction stops. The actual catalyst is monomeric. Palladacycles merely serve as a source of ligand-free palladium in Heck reactions of aryl bromides.

A Practical Recycle of a Ligand-Free Palladium Catalyst for Heck Reactions

Ligand-free palladium can be recovered almost quantitatively from Heck reaction mixtures by filtration after its deposition on a carrier such as silica or celite. Subsequently, it is re-activated to its original activity by adding a small amount of iodine or bromine prior to the next reaction cycle. The catalyst results in excellent yields and selectivities, even for the less reactive aryl bromides. A catalytic cycle based on anionic palladium intermediates is proposed.