The 2,6-bis(diphenylphosphino)pyridine/palladium catalytic system successfully catalyzes the Heck coupling reaction of less reactive aryl chlorides as well as aryl bromides with styrene to give the corresponding olefins in reasonable yields. TBAB (tetrabutylammoniumbromide) as an additive was found to be essential for these reactions. The results of Heck reaction exhibited a high selectivity (>99/1) favoring the trans product. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.