Insight into the Steric and Electronic Effects of Ancillary Ligands: Synthesis and Structure−Reactivity Relationship of Well-Defined, Air- and Moisture-Stable (NHC)Pd(sal)Cl Complexes (sal = Salicylaldimine)

Abstract

Synthesis of a series of (NHC)Pd(sal)Cl complexes, 1−5, bearing a salicylaldimine (sal) unit was described. The structure−reactivity relationship, especially the steric and electronic effects of the salicylaldimine ligands on their catalytic activities, was investigated intensively in the Buchwald−Hartwig coupling reaction. Our study demonstrated that the sterically encumbered N-aryl groups in the salicylaldimine unit give rise to an obviously negative effect in the aryl amination reaction. Additionally, incorporating a steric substituent into the ortho-position of the phenoxide oxygen atom does not appear to be beneficial to their catalytic activity. Notably, the electronic nature of N-substituted aryl groups in the salicylaldimine ligands plays a significant role in their catalytic activities. An electron-rich N-aryl group causes an obviously decreasing yield, while an electron-deficient one, such as complex 5b, leads to enhanced reactivity. The aryl amination reaction with complex 5b was also found to ...