Synthesis, Characterization, and Crystal Structures of Three cis/trans Pyridine - Cyclopalladated Ferrocenylimine Complexes, and Their Catalysis in Suzuki Reactions
Three new pyridine–cyclopalladated ferrocenylimine complexes 2a–c have been easily prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, ESI-MS, 1H NMR, and IR spectra. Their detailed structures are determined by single-crystal X-ray analysis. Palladacycle 2a is found to be a cis complex in the solid state, while 2b and 2c are trans complexes. These complexes were found to be efficient for the Suzuki reaction of aryl bromides with phenylboronic acid. Typically, using 0.2 mol% of 2c in the presence of 1.5 equivalents of K2CO3 as base in toluene at 100°C provided the coupled products in good to excellent yields.