MeNAP Dimers as Versatile Precatalysts for Palladium Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions

Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are indispensable tools in modern syntheticchemistry.[1] However, the continuously increasing steric demand of contemporary ligandarchitectures has created a growing mismatch with traditional palladium precursors, makingcatalyst activation a decisive yet often overlooked limitation. Here, we present halogen- andtrifluoroacetate-bridged methylnaphthyl (MeNAP) palladium dimers as highly effectiveprecatalysts.[2] These bench-stable, highly soluble complexes rapidly react with phosphine orcarbene ligands with formation of monoligated palladium species, regardless of the ligandbulk. Upon treatment with nucleophiles, active Pd(0) species are cleanly formed withinminutes by reductively eliminating inert naphthalene derivatives. Catalysts generated in situfrom MeNAP precursors exhibit excellent performance across numerous C–C, C–N, and C–Obond-forming reactions and are particularly effective in couplings of weak nucleophiles.[3]They promote couplings of aryl chlorides with amides, sulfoximines, carbamates,sulfonamides, amidines, ureas, cyclopropylamines, trifluoroethylamines and many othersubstrate classes at record-setting low temperatures. The mild conditions improve functionalgrouptolerance and compatibility with coordinating heterocycles. MeNAP systems evenpromote catalytic couplings of aryl fluorides at room temperature.[4,5] Their air and waterstability, combined with high solubility, make MeNAP dimers ideal palladium sources fornumerous applications ranging from automated microscale screenings to industrial syntheses.[1] C. C. C. Johansson Seechurn, M. O. Kitching, T. J. Colacot, V. Snieckus, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 5062; [2] N. Sivendran, N. Pirkl, Z. Hu, A. Doppiu, L. J. Gooßen, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 25151, [3] S. Manna, H.Janning, N. Tzouras, J. Sagayaraj, F. Faizal, A. Doppiu, L. J. Gooßen, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, e3359287; [4] J.Shen, J. Stemmer, S. Manna, N. V. Tzouras, L. J. Gooßen, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, 65, e21597; [5] N. Krüger, J. Shen, S. Manna, L. Najiar, L. J. Gooßen, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., in print (2026)