The Hiyama coupling is a
palladium
Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself nam ...
-catalyzed
cross-coupling reaction
In organic chemistry, a cross-coupling reaction is a reaction where two fragments are joined together with the aid of a metal catalyst. In one important reaction type, a main group organometallic compound of the type R-M (R = organic fragment, M ...
of
organosilanes with
organic halides used in
organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clay ...
to form
carbon–carbon bond
A carbon–carbon bond is a covalent bond between two carbon atoms. The most common form is the single bond: a bond composed of two electrons, one from each of the two atoms. The carbon–carbon single bond is a sigma bond and is formed be ...
s (C-C bonds). This reaction was discovered in 1988 by
Tamejiro Hiyama
Tamejiro Hiyama (born August 24, 1946) is a Japanese organic chemist. He is best known for his work in developing the Nozaki-Hiyama-Kishi reaction and the Hiyama coupling. He is currently a professor at the Chuo University Research and Develop ...
and Yasuo Hatanaka as a method to form carbon-carbon bonds synthetically with
chemo- and
regioselectivity
In chemistry, regioselectivity is the preference of chemical bonding or breaking in one direction over all other possible directions. It can often apply to which of many possible positions a reagent will affect, such as which proton a strong base ...
.
The Hiyama coupling has been applied to the synthesis of various
natural product
A natural product is a natural compound or substance produced by a living organism—that is, found in nature. In the broadest sense, natural products include any substance produced by life. Natural products can also be prepared by chemical sy ...
s.
:
:*
R: aryl, alkenyl or alkynyl
:*
R': aryl, alkenyl, alkynyl or alkyl
:*
R'': Cl, F or alkyl
:*
X: Cl, Br, I or OTf
Reaction history
The Hiyama coupling was developed to combat the issues associated with other
organometallic
Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, and ...
reagents. The initial reactivity of organosilicon was not actually first reported by Hiyama, as Kumada reported a coupling reaction using organofluorosilicates
shown below. Organosilanes were then discovered, by Hiyama, to have reactivity when activated by a fluoride source.
This reactivity, when combined with a palladium salt, creates a carbon-carbon bond with an electrophillic carbon, like an organic halide. Compared to the inherent issues of well-used organometalics reagents, such as organomagnesium (
Grignard reagents) and
organocopper
Organocopper compounds is the chemistry of organometallic compounds containing a carbon to copper chemical bond. Organocopper chemistry is the study of organocopper compounds describing their physical properties, synthesis and reactions. They a ...
reagents, which are very reactive and are known to have low chemoselectivity, enough to destroy functional groups on both coupling partners, organosilicon compounds are inactive. Other organometallic reagents using metals such as
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic t ...
,
tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, ...
, and
boron, reduce the reactivity issue, but have other problems associated with each reagent.
Organozinc
Organozinc compounds in organic chemistry contain carbon (C) to zinc (Zn) chemical bonds. Organozinc chemistry is the science of organozinc compounds describing their physical properties, synthesis and reactions.The Chemistry of Organozinc Compoun ...
reagents are moisture sensitive,
organotin
Organotin compounds or stannanes are chemical compounds based on tin with hydrocarbon substituents. Organotin chemistry is part of the wider field of organometallic chemistry. The first organotin compound was diethyltin diiodide (), discovered ...
compounds are toxic, and
organoboron reagents are not readily available, are expensive, and aren't often stable. Organosilanes are readily available compounds that, upon activation (much like organotin or organoboron compounds) from fluoride or a base, can react with organohalides to form C-C bonds in a chemo- and regioselective manner. The reaction first reported was used to couple easily made (and activated) organosilicon
nucleophile
In chemistry, a nucleophile is a chemical species that forms bonds by donating an electron pair. All molecules and ions with a free pair of electrons or at least one pi bond can act as nucleophiles. Because nucleophiles donate electrons, they a ...
s and organohalides (
electrophile
In chemistry, an electrophile is a chemical species that forms bonds with nucleophiles by accepting an electron pair. Because electrophiles accept electrons, they are Lewis acids. Most electrophiles are positively charged, have an atom that ca ...
s) in the presence of a palladium catalyst.
Since this discovery, work has been done by various groups to expand the scope of this reaction and to "fix" the issues with this first coupling, such as the need for fluoride activation of the organosilane.
Mechanism
The organosilane is activated with
fluoride
Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an inorganic, monatomic anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose salts are typically white or colorless. Fluoride salts ...
(as some sort of salt such as
TBAF
Tetra-''n''-butylammonium fluoride, commonly abbreviated to TBAF and ''n''-Bu4NF, is a quaternary ammonium salt with the chemical formula (CH3CH2CH2CH2)4N+F−. It is commercially available as the white solid trihydrate and as a solution in tetra ...
or
TASF) or a base to form a
pentavalent silicon center which is
labile
Lability refers to something that is constantly undergoing change or is likely to undergo change.
Biochemistry
In reference to biochemistry, this is an important concept as far as kinetics is concerned in metalloproteins. This can allow for th ...
enough to allow for the breaking of a C-Si bond during the transmetalation step.
The general scheme to form this key intermediate is shown below. This step occurs
in situ
''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...
or at the same time as the catalytic cycle in the reaction.

The mechanism for the Hiyama coupling follows a catalytic cycle, including an A)
oxidative addition
Oxidative addition and reductive elimination are two important and related classes of reactions in organometallic chemistry. Oxidative addition is a process that increases both the oxidation state and coordination number of a metal centre. Oxid ...
step, in which the organic halide adds to the palladium oxidizing the metal from palladium(0) to palladium(II); a B)
transmetalation Transmetalation (alt. spelling: transmetallation) is a type of organometallic reaction that involves the transfer of ligands from one metal to another. It has the general form:
:M1–R + M2–R′ → M1–R′ + M2–R
where R and R′ can be, but ...
step, in which the C-Si bond is broken and the second carbon fragment is bound to the palladium center; and finally C) a
reductive elimination
Reductive elimination is an elementary step in organometallic chemistry in which the oxidation state of the metal center decreases while forming a new covalent bond between two ligands. It is the microscopic reverse of oxidative addition, and ...
step, in which the C-C bond is formed and the palladium returns to its zero-valent state to start the cycle over again.
The
catalytic cycle
In chemistry, a catalytic cycle is a multistep reaction mechanism that involves a catalyst. The catalytic cycle is the main method for describing the role of catalysts in biochemistry, organometallic chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, material ...
is shown below.
Scope and limitations
Scope
The Hiyama coupling can be applied to the formation of C
sp2-C
sp2 (e.g.
aryl
In organic chemistry, an aryl is any functional group or substituent derived from an aromatic ring, usually an aromatic hydrocarbon, such as phenyl and naphthyl. "Aryl" is used for the sake of abbreviation or generalization, and "Ar" is used as ...
–aryl) bonds as well as C
sp2-C
sp3 (e.g. aryl–
alkyl
In organic chemistry, an alkyl group is an alkane missing one hydrogen.
The term ''alkyl'' is intentionally unspecific to include many possible substitutions.
An acyclic alkyl has the general formula of . A cycloalkyl is derived from a cycloal ...
) bonds. Good synthetic yields are obtained with couplings of
aryl halides,
vinyl halide
In organic chemistry, a vinyl halide is a compound with the formula CH2=CHX (X = halide). The term vinyl is often used to describe any alkenyl group. For this reason, alkenyl halides with the formula RCH=CHX are sometimes called vinyl halides. Fro ...
s, and
allylic
In organic chemistry, an allyl group is a substituent with the structural formula , where R is the rest of the molecule. It consists of a methylene bridge () attached to a vinyl group (). The name is derived from the scientific name for garlic, . ...
halides and
organo iodides afford the best yields.
The scope of this reaction was expanded to include closure of medium-sized rings by
Scott E. Denmark
Scott Eric Denmark is an American chemist who is the Reynold C. Fuson Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Denmark received an bachelor's degree, S.B. degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ...
.

The coupling of alkyl halides with organo-halo-silanes as alternative organosilanes has also been performed. Organochlorosilanes allow couplings with aryl chlorides, which are abundant and generally more economical than aryl iodides.
A nickel catalyst allows for access to new reactivity of organotrifluorosilanes as reported by GC Fu ''et al.''
Secondary
Secondary may refer to: Science and nature
* Secondary emission, of particles
** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products
* The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...
alkyl halides are coupled with aryl silanes
with good yields using this reaction.
Limitations
The Hiyama coupling is limited by the need for fluoride in order to activate the organosilicon reagent. Addition of fluoride cleaves any silicon protecting groups (e.g.
silyl ether
Silyl ethers are a group of chemical compounds which contain a silicon atom covalently bonded to an alkoxy group. The general structure is R1R2R3Si−O−R4 where R4 is an alkyl group or an aryl group. Silyl ethers are usually used as protectin ...
s
[Greene, T. W.; Wuts, P. G. M. Protective Groups In Organic Synthesis, 3rd ed.;
John Wiley & Sons: New York, 1991. ]), which are frequently employed in organic synthesis. The fluoride ion is also basic, so base sensitive protecting groups, acidic protons, and functional groups may be affected by the addition of this activator. Most of the active research concerning this reaction involves circumventing this problem. To overcome this issue, many groups have looked to the use of other basic additives for activation, or use of a different organosilane reagent all together, leading to the multiple variations of the original Hiyama coupling.
Variations
One modification of the Hiyama coupling utilizes a silacyclobutane ring and a fluoride source that is hydrated as shown below.
This mimics the use of an alkoxysilane/organosilanol rather than the use of alkylsilane. The mechanism of this reaction, using a fluoride source, allowed for the design of future reactions that can avoid the use of the fluoride source.
Fluoride-free Hiyama couplings
Many modifications to the Hiyama coupling have been developed that avoid the use of a fluoride activator/base. Using organochlorosilanes, Hiyama found a coupling scheme utilizing
NaOH
Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaOH. It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions .
Sodium hydroxide is a highly caustic base and alkali ...
as the basic activator.
Modifications using alkoxysilanes have been reported with the use of milder bases like NaOH
and even water.
Study of these mechanisms have led to the development of the Hiyama–Denmark coupling which utilize
organosilanols as coupling partners.
Another class of fluoride-free Hiyama couplings include the use of a
Lewis acid
A Lewis acid (named for the American physical chemist Gilbert N. Lewis) is a chemical species that contains an empty orbital which is capable of accepting an electron pair from a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct. A Lewis base, then, is any sp ...
additive, which allows for bases such as
K3PO4 to be utilized, or for the reaction to proceed without a basic additive.
The addition of a
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...
co-catalyst has also been reported to allow for the use of a milder activating agent
and has even been shown to get
turnover
Turnover or turn over may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
*''Turn Over'', a 1988 live album by Japanese band Show-Ya
* Turnover (band), an American rock band
*"Turnover", a song on Fugazi's 1990 album '' Repeater''
*''Turnover'', a Japane ...
in which both the palladium(II) and copper(I) turnover in the catalytic cycle rather than addition of
stoichiometric
Stoichiometry refers to the relationship between the quantities of reactants and products before, during, and following chemical reactions.
Stoichiometry is founded on the law of conservation of mass where the total mass of the reactants equ ...
Lewis acid (e.g. silver(I),
copper(I)
).
Hiyama–Denmark coupling
The Hiyama–Denmark coupling is the modification of the Hiyama coupling that does not require a fluoride additive to utilize organosilanols and organic halides as coupling partners. The general reaction scheme is shown below, showcasing the utilization of a
Brønsted base as the activating agent as opposed to fluoride,
phosphine ligands are also used on the metal center.

A specific example of this reaction is shown with reagents. If fluoride had been used, as in the original Hiyama protocol, the
''tert''-butyldimethylsilyl (TBS) ether would have likely been destroyed.
Hiyama–Denmark coupling mechanism
Examination of this reaction's mechanism suggests that the formation of the silonate is all that is needed to activate addition of the organosilane to the palladium center. The presence of a pentavalent silicon is not needed and
kinetic analysis has shown that this reaction has first order dependence on silonate concentration.
This is due to the key bond being formed, the Pd-O bond during the transmetalation step, that then allows for transfer of the carbon fragment onto the palladium center. Based on this observation, it seems that the rate limiting step in this catalytic cycle is the Pd-O bond formation, in which increased silonate concentrations increase the rate of this reaction (indicative of faster reactions).
See also
*
Heck reaction
The Heck reaction (also called the Mizoroki–Heck reaction) is the chemical reaction of an unsaturated halide (or triflate) with an alkene in the presence of a base and a palladium catalyst (or palladium nanomaterial-based catalyst) to form a sub ...
*
Kumada coupling
In organic chemistry, the Kumada coupling is a type of cross coupling reaction, useful for generating carbon–carbon bonds by the reaction of a Grignard reagent and an organic halide. The procedure uses transition metal catalysts, typically ...
*
Negishi coupling
The Negishi coupling is a widely employed transition metal catalyzed cross-coupling reaction. The reaction couples organic halides or triflates with organozinc compounds, forming carbon-carbon bonds (C-C) in the process. A palladium (0) spe ...
*
Sonogashira coupling
The Sonogashira reaction is a cross-coupling reaction used in organic synthesis to form carbon–carbon bonds. It employs a palladium catalyst as well as copper co-catalyst to form a carbon–carbon bond between a terminal alkyne and an aryl or vin ...
*
Stille reaction
The Stille reaction is a chemical reaction widely used in organic synthesis. The reaction involves the coupling of two organic groups, one of which is carried as an organotin compound (also known as organostannanes). A variety of organic electroph ...
*
Suzuki reaction
The Suzuki reaction is an organic reaction, classified as a cross-coupling reaction, where the coupling partners are a boronic acid and an organohalide and the catalyst is a palladium(0) complex. It was first published in 1979 by Akira Suzuki, ...
*
Palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions
In organic chemistry, a cross-coupling reaction is a reaction where two fragments are joined together with the aid of a metal catalyst. In one important reaction type, a main group organometallic compound of the type R-M (R = organic fragment, M = ...
External links
Information about Hiyama couplingsInformation about Hiyama–Denmark couplings
References
{{Reflist, 30em
Organometallic chemistry
Carbon-carbon bond forming reactions
Palladium
Name reactions