Preparation of Metal-Imidazolidin-2-ylidene Complexes by Oxidative Addition

An entry into (chiral) palladium complexes bearing N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands is outlined on the basis of the oxidative addition of Pd(PPh3)4 to easily accessible (enantiopure) 2-chloro-1,3-disubstituted imidazolinium salts. This procedure is complementary to existing methodology that relies on metathetic ligand exchange reactions without changing the oxidation state of the involved metal center