Palladium(II) Chloride Catalyzed Carbonylation of Organic Tellurides with Carbon Monoxide

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00231a007

Various organic tellurides react with carbon monoxide (1 atm) at room temperature in methanol in the presence of PdCl2 and Et3N to afford the corresponding methyl carboxylates in good to excellent yields.The reaction is catalytic in PdCl2 when a suitable reoxidant such as CuCl2, CuCl/O2, FeCl3 or Ce(NH4)2(NO3)6 is present.The combination of this carbonylation with phenyltellurenylation of arylacetylenes and propargylic alcohols makes it possible to prepare ring-substituted cis-methyl cinnamates and Δ^α,β-butenolides, respectively.Both monomeric and dimeric palladium complexes, (Ph2Te)2PdCl2 and <(Ph2Te)PdCl2>2, react readily with CO to give a high yield of methyl benzoate.The key step of the present carbonylation is proposed to be the migration of an organic moiety from Te to Pd (transmetalation) in organic telluride-PdCl2 complexes, presumably formed in situ, to afford organopalladium compounds.