Evaluation of Potential Safety Hazards Associated with the Suzuki–Miyaura Cross-Coupling of Aryl Bromides with Vinylboron Species

The potential safety hazards associated with the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling of aryl bromides with vinylboron species were evaluated. In the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling of 1-bromo-3-(trifluoromethyl)benzene with potassium vinyltrifluoroborate in the presence of potassium carbonate (K2CO3) in 9:1 dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)/water at 80 °C, the thermal profile revealed a significant exotherm upon the addition of catalytic 1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene palladium(II) dichloride [Pd(dppf)Cl2]. Further investigations indicated that the exotherm was consistently higher and the reactions were faster in the studied aqueous systems compared to anhydrous conditions. Although under anhydrous conditions the exotherms were comparable among the studied cases, the rate of the exotherm was highly dependent on the choice of aryl electrophile, solvent, base, catalyst, as well as vinylboron species. In many of the studied cases the maximum temperature of a synthesis reaction (MTSR) was considerably higher than the b...