Synthesis of a Palladium(IV) Complex by Oxidative Addition of an Aryl Halide to Palladium(II) and Its Use as Precatalyst in a CC Coupling Reaction

Four's a charm : Complex 1 ⋅OAc (see scheme) reacts with 2‐iodobenzoic acid to afford the stable Pd IV complexes 2 a and 2 b . Complexes 2 are precatalysts for the orthovinylation of 2‐iodobenzoic acid with CH 2 CHCO 2 Me and AgClO 4 at room temperature. The reaction is not quenched by excess Hg nor does it afford dibenzyl in the presence of benzyl chloride, suggesting that neither Pd nanoparticles nor a Pd 0 complex are involved.