A superior precursor for palladium(0)-based cross-coupling and other catalytic reactions.

The easily synthesized, easily handled compound Pd(eta(3)-1-PhC(3)H(4))(eta(5)-C(5)H(5)) (II) reacts readily with mono- and bidentate tertiary phosphines to produce the corresponding bis-phosphine palladium(0) complexes in good yields; II is thus an excellent precursor, perhaps the most efficacious and reliable available, for the synthesis of palladium(0) cross-coupling catalysts.