Bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II)succinimide as a precatalyst for Suzuki cross-coupling—subtle effects exerted by the succinimide ligand

A new palladium(II) precatalyst for Suzuki cross-coupling of aryl halides and organoboronic acids has been identified, namely bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II)succinimide [(Ph3P)2Pd(N-Succ)2] . The precatalyst is easily prepared from palladium(0) precursors, such as (Ph3P)4Pd or Pd2dba3·CHCl3/Ph3P and succinimide, is air, light and moisture stable, and may be employed with a variety of substrates to give the cross-coupled products, in good yields and in reasonable time, at relatively low catalyst loadings.