A highly active phosphine-free catalyst system for Heck reactions of aryl bromides

Palladium salts such as Pd(OAc) 2 or PdCl 2 (PhCN) 2 in the presence of N,N -dimethylglycine (DMG) constitute the simplest and one of the most reactive and selective catalyst systems for the Heck reaction of aryl bromides with olefins known to date.