Aqueous sodium hydroxide promoted cross-coupling reactions of alkenyltrialkoxysilanes under ligand-free conditions.

Fluoride-free cross-coupling reactions of alkenyltrialkoxysilanes with aryl iodides, bromides, and chlorides are performed on water using sodium hydroxide as activator at 120 degrees C under normal or microwave heating. This process occurs in the presence of Pd(OAc)(2) or 4-hydroxyacetophenone oxime-derived palladacycle 1 as precatalysts under ligand-free conditions with low Pd loadings (0.01-1 mol %) and using tetra-n-butylammonium bromide as additive. Different commercially available vinylalkoxylsilanes can be cross-coupled under these reaction conditions to the corresponding styrenes, the best substrates being vinyltrimethoxy- or vinyltriethoxysilane. Alkenyltriethoxysilanes, prepared by Wilkinson-catalyzed hydrosilylation of alkynes with triethoxysilane, are stereospecifically arylated with aryl and vinyl halides under microwave irradiation in moderate to high beta/alpha regioselectivity affording unsymmetrical stilbenes, alkenylbenzenes, and conjugate dienes, respectively. This simple procedure allows the palladium recycling from the aqueous phase during three runs by extractive separation of the products, which contain very low levels of Pd (21-27.5 ppm for an aryl iodide and up to 76 ppm for a bromide).