The reaction of 3,5-bis(bromomethyl)toluene with benzotriazole yields the bidentate ligand 3,5-bis(benzotriazol-1-ylmethyl)toluene (1).This ligand reacts with [PdCl 2 (cod)] (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) to give the complex [PdCl 2 {3,5-bis(benzotriazol-1-ylmethyl)tolyl}] (2).These compounds were characterized by elemental analyses, mass spectra, and FTIR and NMR ( 1 H, 13 C) spectroscopies.The palladium(II) complex 2 shows high activity as catalyst for oxidative amination, involving allyl butyl ether and phthalimide as substrates and PhICl 2 as a stoichiometric oxidant.