A Highly Active and Recyclable Catalyst: Phosphine Dendrimer-Stabilized Nickel Nanoparticles for the Suzuki Coupling Reaction

We report here the first dendritic phosphine-stabilized nickel nanoparticles, which can be prepared from nickel(II) chloride, a third generation phosphine dendrimer and the surfactant tetraoctylammonium bromide (TOABr) by two-phase reduction using sodium borohydride. The resulting nickel nanoparticles are found to be a highly active and recyclable catalyst for Suzuki coupling reactions, especially those extended to aryl chloride substrates, affording the biaryls in moderate to good yields.