3. Metallocatalyzed coupling reactions

Coupling reactions in organic chemistry are typically reactions in which a bond is formed between two entities. This can be a bond between two carbon atoms –, which is the general case –, or a bond between a carbon atom and a heteroatom: O, N, S, Se, B...

From the 1970s onwards, chemists began to develop catalytic coupling reactions involving palladium salts or complexes and simple partners. In 2010, after nearly 40 years of research and results that have changed the practice of synthetic organic chemistry at both academic and industrial levels, Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions in organic synthesis.