A new catalyst for C-C and crossed-coupling

Tokyo Chemical Industry Co. (TCI; Tokyo; www.tokyokasei.co.jp) is planning full-scale production of a new palladium-complex catalyst, trade-named SingaCycle-E1, for performing Heck-Mizoroki carbon-carbon coupling reactions and the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction — both reactions of importance for producing pharmaceuticals. TCI says SingaCycle-E1 offers enhanced activity and improved stability over conventional catalysts used for such reactions, and believes the catalyst may also be used for electronic materials. Developed in collaboration with the National Public Research Institute of Singapore (www.nus.edu.sg), SingaCycle-E1 — Chloro[(1,3-dimesitylimidazol-2-ylidene)( N,N -dimethylbenzylamine)palladium(II)] — has two ligands. One is N -hetero cyclic carbene (NHC), a highly-active and robust ligand widely used in the cross-coupling reactions. The other is a palladacycle ligand containing an elimination unit formed when the catalyst is activated. The catalyst performance is optimized by adjusting the combination of NHC ligand and the ligand to be eliminated from palladacycle. The company says the catalyst is stable and easy to handle in atmospheric condition, and could be used over a wide range of scales, from…