Acylpalladium derivatives palladium complexes

Carboxylic acid chlorides and chloroformate esters add to tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(0) to form acylpalladium derivatives (equation 42).102 On heating, the acylpalladium complexes can lose carbon monoxide (reversibly). Attempts to employ acid halides in vinylic acylations, therefore, often result in obtaining decarbonylated products (see below). However, there are some exceptions. Acylation may occur when the alkenes are highly reactive and/or in cases where the acylpalladium complexes are resistant to decarbonylation and in situations where intramolecular reactions can form five-membered rings. 

Bromobenzyl alcohol and its derivatives were converted to phthalides by the palladium catalysed insertion of carbon monoxide and intramolecular quenching of the formed acylpalladium complex. 2-Hydroxymethyl-1-bromonaphthaline, for example, gave the tricyclic product in excellent yield (3.34.). An interesting feature of the process is the use of molybdenum hexacarbonyl as carbon monoxide source. The reaction was also extended to isoindolones, phthalimides and dihydro-benzopyranones 42... 

Before discussing the double carbonylation processes it may be helpful to understand the mechanism of the single carbonylation of aryl halides into carboxylic acid derivatives (Heck processes). The first step in the catalytic process is oxidative addition of an aryl halide to Pd(0) species formed from a catalyst precursor to yield an arylpal-ladium halide intermediate (A) in Scheme 1. Insertion of carbon monoxide into the aryl-palladium bond in A gives an acylpalladium halide complex (B). Attack of a nucleophile such as alcohol, amine, and water assisted by a base on the acylpalladium complex yields carboxylic ester, amide, and carboxylic acid, although details of the mechanism have not been unequivocally established. The palladium(O) species regenerated in the process further undergoes oxidative addition to carry out the catalytic cycle (Scheme 1). 

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