Homogeneous catalysis amidation

As with carboxylic acids obtained by palladium hydroxycarbonylation, their derivatives esters, amides, anhydrides and acyl halides are synthesized from alkenes, CO and HX (X = OR, NR2 etc.). The Pd-catalyzed methoxycarbonylation is one of the most studied reactions among this type of catalyzed carbonylations and has been reviewed and included in reports of homogeneous catalysis.625, 26 The methoxycarbonylation has been applied to many different substrates to obtain intermediates in organic syntheses as well as specific products. For instance, the reaction has been applied for methoxycarbonylation of alkynes666 Highly efficient homogeneous Pd cationic catalysts have been reported and the methoxycarbonylation of alkynes has been used to develop economically attractive and environmentally benign process for the production of methyl... 

Once again, there has been considerable interest in tervalent ester and amide chemistry that relates to the preparation of new, often chiral, ligand systems for use in metal-catalysed homogeneous catalysis. 

Since, in homogeneous catalysis, the chemical nature of the amine moiety has a large influence on the hydrolysis rate [2,6,7], the previous conditions with zeolites were applied to several aromatic amides containing different substituents and to benzanilide. 

Cisoid retinoids have been isomerized to give the corresponding trans compounds by catalysis with iodine (Cainelli etal, 1973 Reif and Grassner, 1973). Methyl (13Z)-retinoate (176) has been converted to (all- )-retinoic acid (3) by being treated at room temperature with potassium amide in toluene and hydrolysis of the product obtained (Matsui, 1962). Homogeneous catalysis of a mixture of (9Z)-retinyl acetate (366) and (all- )-retinyl acetate (9) in the presence of palladium(II) chloride/acetonitrile adducts gave, by isomerization, a mixture more concentrated in (9), and pure (all- )-retinyl acetate (9) was then isolated in crystalline form from the latter mixture (Stoller and Wagner, 1975 Fischli et al., 1976). 

Base catalysis is most effective with alkali metals dispersed on solid supports or, in the homogeneous form, as aldoxides, amides, and so on. Small amounts of promoters form organoalkali comnpounds that really contribute the catalytic power. Basic ion exchange resins also are usebil. Base-catalyzed processes include isomerization and oligomerization of olefins, reactions of olefins with aromatics, and hydrogenation of polynuclear aromatics. 

Supposedly, lanthanide chemistry is lagging behind main group and d-transition metal chemistry. The concluding statement which Bradley made with respect to transition metal dialkylamides and silylamides almost 20 years ago [19b] is a current topic in lanthanide amide chemistry To date homogenous transition-metal catalysis has been restricted to hydrocarbon systems involving the facile formation and rupture of M-H, M-C, C-H and C-C bonds. An extension to include M-N, C-N, M-O, and C-O bonds seems plausible and could lead to substantial advances in transition-metal catalysis. ... 

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