Six new, sterically demanding bis(benzimidazolium) salts (2a-f) as NHC precursors have been synthesized and characterized. These salts, in combination with palladium acetate, provide active catalysts for the cross-coupling of aryl chlorides and bromides under mild conditions in aqueous media. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
C1 Inonu Univ, Fac Sci & Arts, Dept Chem, TR-44280 Malatya, Turkey.
Ege Univ, Dept Chem, TR-35100 Bornova, Turkey.