Heterogeneous or homogeneous? A case study involving palladium-containing perovskites in the Suzuki reaction

The utility of a series of palladium-containing perovskite catalysts in the Suzuki reaction is described; turnover numbers of up to 400,000 are reported. A detailed investigation into the mode of action of these catalysts encompassing kinetic studies, catalyst poisoning, microscopy and three-phase tests demonstrate that these heterogeneous materials are pre-catalysts that operate by a solution-phase mechanism. © 2005 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA