An Examination of the Palladium/Mor‐DalPhos Catalyst System in the Context of Selective Ammonia Monoarylation at Room Temperature

An examination of the [{Pd(cinnamyl)Cl}(2)]/Mor-DalPhos (Mor-DalPhos = di(1-adamantyl)-2-morpholinophenylphosphine) catalyst system in Buchwald-Hartwig aminations employing ammonia was conducted to better understand the catalyst formation process and to guide the development of precatalysts for otherwise challenging room-temperature ammonia monoarylations. The combination of [{Pd(cinnamyl)Cl}(2)] and Mor-DalPhos afforded [(κ(2)-P,N-Mor-DalPhos)Pd(η(1)-cinnamyl)Cl] (2), which, in the presence of a base and chlorobenzene, generated [(κ(2)-P,N-Mor-DalPhos)Pd(Ph)Cl] (1 a). Halide abstraction from 1 a afforded [(κ(3)-P,N,O-Mor-DalPhos)Pd(Ph)]OTf (5), bringing to light a potential stabilizing interaction that is offered by Mor-DalPhos. An examination of [(κ(2)-P,N-Mor-DalPhos)Pd(aryl)Cl] (1 b-f) and related precatalysts for the coupling of ammonia and chlorobenzene at room temperature established the suitability of 1 a in such challenging applications. The scope of reactivity for the use of 1 a (5 mol %) encompassed a range of (hetero)aryl (pseudo)halides (X = Cl, Br, I, OTs) with diverse substituents (alkyl, aryl, ether, thioether, ketone, amine, fluoro, trifluoromethyl, and nitrile), including chemoselective arylations.