Pd/P(t-Bu)3: A Mild and General Catalyst for Stille Reactions of Aryl Chlorides and Aryl Bromides

Abstract
Pd/P(t-Bu)3 serves as an unusually reactive catalyst for Stille reactions of aryl chlorides and bromides, providing solutions to a number of long-standing challenges. An unprecedented array of aryl chlorides can be cross-coupled with a range of organotin reagents, including SnBu4. Very hindered biaryls (e.g., tetra-ortho-substituted) can be synthesized, and aryl chlorides can be coupled in the presence of aryl triflates. The method is user-friendly, since a commercially available complex, Pd(P(t-Bu)3)2, is effective. Pd/P(t-Bu)3 also functions as an active catalyst for Stille reactions of aryl bromides, furnishing the first general method for room-temperature cross-couplings.