Herrmann's catalyst
Herrmann's catalyst is an organopalladium compound that is a popular catalyst for the Heck reaction. It is a yellow air-stable solid that is soluble in organic solvents. Under conditions for catalysis, the acetate group is lost and the Pd-C bond undergoes protonolysis, giving rise to a source of "PdP3".
The complex is made by reaction of trisphosphine with palladium acetate:
Many analogues of Hermann's catalyst have been developed, e.g. palladacycles obtained from 2-aminobiphenyl.
