Basic ionic liquids: Facile solvents for carbon-carbon bond formation reactions and ready access to palladium nanoparticles

A basic ionic liquid was selected to serve as both the solvent and base for Heck, copper-free Sonogashira reactions, and for homocoupling reactions of terminal alkynes. The ionic liquids with tertiary aliphatic amines are effective solvents for these reactions. Under reflux conditions, eight equivalent basic ionic liquids and Pd(OAc)(2) in THF or acetone produced palladium colloids with diameters of (2.6 +/- 0.3) or (3.7 +/- 0.5) mn, respectively. Preliminary results for Knoevenagel condensations are also reported. (C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007)