Heck coupling reaction of iodobenzene and styrene using supercritical water in the absence of a catalyst.

Heck coupling reaction of iodobenzene and styrene proceeds rapidly and selectively in supercritical water even without any catalyst in the presence of base. Both the choice of base and the reaction conditions had a significant effect on the conversion and the selectivity of the coupling products. The addition of a relatively mild base such as potassium acetate facilitated the cross-coupling reaction, while the hydrolysis of phenyl halide was favored in the presence of a strong base. The conversion and the yields of coupling products increased with increasing temperature, reaching a maximum at 650 K near the critical temperature of water, and then decreased as the temperature was further increased. Water density had a significant influence on the reaction rate, showing nearly 30% augmentation with a slight increase in density from 0.45 to 0.56 g cm(-3), but had less effect on the product selectivity. Two possibilities of the role of water responsible for the noncatalytic Heck coupling reaction in supercritical water, that is, ion and water-catalyzed mechanisms have been considered.