In this communication we present the results obtained using a family of cyclometallated palladium compounds as catalysts for the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction between an aryl halide and phenylboronic acid.

We have studied the structural factors that enhance the catalysts efficiency for this process through the synthesis of a library of analogous compounds containing thiosemicarbazone ligands with substituted rings and ferrocene diphosphine (dppf). We found that the best conversion rates are obtained with ligands bearing methoxy-disubstituted aromatic rings; and that the process performance is improved when R² is a methyl group bound to the thioamidic nitrogen.

These results lay the foundations for the design and development of novel and more efficient palladium catalysts based in thiosemicarbazones.