Mechanism of reductive elimination. Reaction of alkylpalladium(II) complexes with tetraorganotin, organolithium, and Grignard reagents. Evidence for palladium(IV) intermediacy

Coupling products are obtained in good yields from the reaction of tetraorganotin compounds or Grignard reagents and organohalogenopalladium(II) complexes provided that a benzyl bromide is present. Low yields are obtained in the absence of the benzyl bromides, in which case other decomposition pathways (e.g., α elimination) take place, even in the presence of electron acceptors (e.g., oxygen, m-dinitrobenzene). The first step in the reaction of benzylhalogenobis(triphenylphosphine)-palladium(II) complexes with MeM (M = SnMe3, MgBr) is metathesis of the benzyl ligand rather than the halogen. This unique carbon-for-carbon transmetalation takes place at 250C and is facilitated by electron-donating substituents on the benzyl ligand. The products of this reaction subsequently react at higher temperature in the presence of a benzyl bromide to afford ethylbenzene. Optically active chloro-(α-deuteriobenzyl)bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium yields, upon reaction with tetramethyltin in the presence of p-nitrobenzyl bromide, optically active α-deuterioethylbenzene in which overall retention of configuration at carbon has resulted. cis-dimethylbis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) reacts with benzyl bromide at 250C to afford ethylbenzene and bromomethylbis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) rather than ethane. When optically active α-deuteriobenzyl bromide is used in this reaction, optically active α-deuterioethylbenzene is formed, and inversion of configuration at carbon takes place. The reductive elimination process is proposed to take place preferentially from a palladium(IV) intermediate with retention of configuration at carbon