Palladium-catalyzed Suzuki reaction using 1,3-dialkylbenzimidazol-2-ylidene ligands in aqueous media

From readily available starting compounds, six functionalized 1,3-dialkylbenzimidazolium salts (2a-c and 4a-c) have been prepared and characterized by conventional spectroscopic methods and elemental analyses. A highly effective, easy to handle, and environmentally benign process for palladium-mediated Suzuki cross-coupling was developed. The in situ prepared three-component systems Pd(OAc)(2)/1,3-dialkylbenzimidazolium chlorides and Cs2CO3 catalyze quantitatively the Suzuki cross-coupling of deactivated aryl chlorides. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.