Cross coupling of benzylammonium salts with boronic acids using a well-defined N-heterocyclic carbene-palladium(ii) precatalyst.

N-heterocyclic carbene-palladium(ii)-catalyzed cross-coupling of benzylammonium salts with arylboronic acids for the synthesis of diarylmethane derivatives via C-N bond activation has been developed. Notably, in the presence of the easily prepared and bench-stable Pd-PEPPSI precatalyst, the Csp 3 -N bond activation of the benzylammonium salt even proceeded smoothly in isopropanol at room temperature.