Adding the C-COCl bond of acid chlorides across alkenes with palladium catalysis

What is it about?

We show that acid chlorides can react by formally breaking the C-COCl bond of an acid chloride to add both the carbon fragment and acid chloride across alkenes. Previously, the acid chloride group could not be reformed with addition of the carbon fragment to an alkene or alkyne. This was achieved using a palladium catalyst with a phosphine ligand.

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Photo by Chromatograph on Unsplash

Photo by Chromatograph on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This discovery is important as it expands the range of reactions which add both a carbon fragment and functional group across unsaturated bonds with complete atom economy (all atoms in the starting material are found in the product). This enables chemist to rapidly build complex structures in a single step, streamlining synthesis, and use the functional handle to make derivatives

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