A dual light-driven palladium catalyst: Breaking the barriers in carbonylation reactions

Abstract

Lighting the way coming and going Catalysts accelerate chemical reactions by breaking existing bonds and then forming new ones. Often, the factors that favor the first process can muddle the second one, constraining a catalyst's generality. Torres et al. found that visible light excitation of a palladium complex can facilitate both the breaking and making of carbon-halogen bonds (see the Perspective by Kathe and Fleischer). The reaction specifically forms acid chlorides by carbonylation of a wide variety of alkyl or aryl bromides and iodides. These products in turn can react further to form amides and esters. Science , this issue p. 318 ; see also p. 242