| Description |
The quantifications of the formations of (phosphine)Ni(cod), a potentially active catalyst, and (phosphine)2Ni, an unreactive complex, when Ni(cod)2 is reacted stoichiometrically with common bidentate phosphines are outlined. Additionally, efforts to promote the formation of (phosphine)Ni(cod) through the addition of nitriles and excess COD are documented. The formation of (phosphine)Ni(cod) could be promoted with nitrile under certain conditions, but a full picture of the prevalence and effect of (phosphine)2Ni in nickel catalysis remained obscure. Therefore, a summary of all catalytic reactions using nickel and a bidentate phosphine as a catalyst system is provided. This summary showed that moderately high to high yields are often observed in catalytic cross-coupling reactions using Ni(cod)2 where (phosphine)2Ni complexes potentially formed. The final chapter provides an account of research into active catalyst formation in Ni(cod)2-catalyzed cross-coupling chemistry using bidentate phosphines. This research develops an understanding of the observation that standard in situ methods of nickel catalyst formation, which generally lead to (phosphine)2Ni, can result in catalytic activity in cross-coupling. |
