In this paper we report a brief review of the palladium-catalyzed olef
ination and amination of aryl chlorides. Special emphasis is given on
the efficiency of known catalysts. Best turnover numbers (TON up to 40
,000) known to date for Heck reactions are displayed by palladacycle c
atalysts, e.g., 1 in the presence of salts as co-catalysts. Model stud
ies show that the catalyst productivity is strongly influenced by the
nature of the added salt. In addition, the ability of mixtures of Pd(O
Ac)(2) and phosphines to catalyze the reaction of styrene with 1-chlor
o-4-trifluoromethylbenzene was studied dependent on the Pd:P ratio. It
was found that apart from the palladacycle 1 a number of established
phosphines permit efficient C-CI activation. Amination of aryl chlorid
es is also possible in the presence of palladacycles as catalyst precu
rsors. Crucial for the success of the C-N bond forming reaction is the
use of potassium tert-butoxide as base and reaction temperatures > 12
0 degrees C. Turnover numbers up to 900 and yields up to 80% have been
obtained for the amination of 1-chloro-4-trifluoromethylbenzene.