Ni vs. Pd in Suzuki-Miyaura sp²-sp² cross-coupling: a head-to-head study in a comparable precatalyst/ligand system

The Suzuki-Miyaura reaction is a cornerstone method for sp²-sp² cross-coupling in industry. There has been a concerted effort to enable the use of Ni catalysis as an alternative to Pd in order to mitigate cost and improve sustainability. Despite significant advances, ligand development for Ni-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling remains underdeveloped when compared to Pd and, as a consequence, ligands for Ni-catalyzed processes are typically taken from the Pd arena. In this study we evaluate the effect of using a similar Ni and Pd precatalyst based on a common bidentate ligand (dppf) in a head-to-head format for the most common type of biaryl couplings, establishing the practical implications of direct replacement of Pd with Ni, and identifying the potential origins of these observations in a mechanistic context.