Kinetic studies of Heck coupling reactions using palladacycle catalysts: experimental and kinetic modeling of the role of dimer species.

Experimental kinetic studies of the coupling of p-bromobenzaldehyde (1) with butyl acrylate (2) using the dimeric palladacycles complex (4) with chelating nitrogen ligands were carried out together with kinetic modeling using a reaction rate expression based on the mechanism shown in Scheme 2. The oxidative addition product of 1 was found to be the resting state within the catalytic cycle. The formation of dimeric Pd species external to the catalytic cycle helped to rationalize a non-first-order rate dependence on catalyst concentration. Theoretical modeling showed how the relative concentrations of the different intermediate species within the catalystic cycle can influence the observed rate dependence on Pd concentration. It was shown how conventional kinetic studies may give reaction orders in substrates which differ from those which would be observed under practical synthetic conditions. Comparison between phosphine- and nonphosphine-based palladacycles suggests that they follow the same reaction mechanism. The role of water in accelerating the initial formation of the active catalyst species is noted.