Aryl formate as bifunctional reagent: applications in palladium-catalyzed carbonylative coupling reactions using in situ generated CO.

After decades of development, carbonylation reactions have become one of the most powerful tools in modern organic synthesis. However, the requirement of CO gas limits the applications of such reactions. Reported herein is a versatile and practical protocol for carbonylative reactions which rely on the cooperation of phenyl formate and nonaflate, and the generation of CO in situ. This protocol has a high functionalgroup tolerance and could be applied in carbonylations with C, N, and, O nucleophiles. The corresponding amides, alkynones, furanones, and aryl benzoates were synthesized in good yields.