First cross-coupling reaction of potassium aryltrifluoroborates with organic chlorides in aqueous media catalyzed by an oxime-derived palladacycle.

Potassium aryltrifluoroborates are cross-coupled with aryl and heteroaryl chlorides using a 4-hydroxyacetophenone oxime-derived palladacycle as precatalyst, K2CO3 as base, and TBAB as additive in refluxing water under conventional and microwave heating affording the corresponding biphenyls under phosphine-free conditions. For the arylation of allyl and benzyl chlorides, KOH is used as base in acetone-water (3:2) at rt or 50 degrees C using 0.1 mol % Pd loading providing allylbenzenes and diarylmethanes, respectively.