Mechanistic studies of SCS-Pd complexes used in Heck catalysis

Air-stable SCS palladacycles that can be used to promote C-C coupling chemistry were studied mechanistically. Using a small library of electronically varied SCS ligands, a collection of palladacycles was synthesized. Kinetic studies showed that these complexes all had induction periods, induction periods that were effected by concentration of substrates, products and trace impurities. Hammet correlations showed that electronically diverse palladacycles had identical p values, values that suggested that aryl halide electrophilic addition to a Pd species was not the rate-determining step. Phosphine addition experiments led to increased reactivity of the starting palladacycles, possibly by trapping an in situ generated Pd(0) species. Studies that examined reactivity in biphasic thermomorphic reactions showed residual activity in phases that do not contain polymer-bound palladacycle and provided convincing evidence that palladacycles are not the actual catalyst. Poisoning experiments using mercury metal to test for the presence of a Pd colloid were very effective with low molecular weight palladacycles, completely suppressing Heck chemistry. Similar studies with polymer-bound palladacycles showed mercury poisoning too. However, since so little decomposition of the palladacycle occurred, the polymer-bound palladacycle could still be recycled multiple times. However, mercury poisoned subsequent cycles of the experiment too. The conclusion is that SCS palladacycles are actually reservoirs of a catalytically active but ill-defined form of palladium(0).