Aerobic ligand-free Suzuki coupling catalyzed by in situ-generated palladium nanoparticles in water

A simple and efficient procedure for Suzuki coupling of aryl bromides/iodides with aryl- and alkylboronic acids catalyzed by in situ-generated palladium(0) nanoparticles in water without any ligand in open air to produce a variety of functionalized biaryls and alkyl-aryls has been developed. The boronic acids act here as the reducing agent for the formation of Pd nanoparticles. The reactions are remarkably fast (5 min) and high yielding. The catalyst is recyclable up to three runs without loss of efficiency.