Sterically Encumbered Tetraarylimidazolium Carbene Pd-PEPPSI Complexes: Highly Efficient Direct Arylation of Imidazoles with Aryl Bromides under Aerobic Conditions

A series of sterically encumbered tetraarylimidazolium carbene Pd-PEPPSI complexes were conveniently prepared and fully characterized. These sterically encumbered Pd-PEPPSI complexes act as active precatalysts for the direct arylation of imidazoles with aryl bromides under aerobic conditions. The catalytic performance of Pd-PEPPSI complexes in cross-coupling processes is investigated. Under the optimal protocols, the cross-coupling reactions regioselectively produced C5-arylation products in moderate to excellent yields, which could tolerate a wide range of functional aryl bromides.