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The synthesis of carboxylic acids is of fundamental importance in the chemical industry and the corresponding products find numerous applications for polymers, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and other manufactured chemicals. Although hydroxycarbonylations of olefins have been known for more than 60 years, currently known catalyst systems for this transformation do not fulfill industrial requirements, for example, stability. Presented herein for the first time is an aqueous-phase protocol that allows conversion of various olefins, including sterically hindered and demanding tetra-, tri-, and 1,1-disubstituted systems, as well as terminal alkenes, into the corresponding carboxylic acids in excellent yields. The outstanding stability of the catalyst system (26 recycling runs in 32 days without measurable loss of activity), is showcased in the preparation of an industrially relevant fatty acid. Key-to-success is the use of a built-in-base ligand under acidic aqueous conditions. This catalytic system is expected to provide a basis for new cost-competitive processes for the industrial production of carboxylic acids.

A general and selective palladium-catalyzed alkoxycarbonylation of all kinds of alkenes with formic acid (HCOOH, FA) is described. Terminal, di-, tri-, and tetra-substituted including functionalized olefins are converted into linear esters with high yields and regioselectivity. Key-to-success is the use of specific palladium catalysts containing ligands with built-in base, e.g., L5. Comparison experiments demonstrate that the active catalyst system not only facilitates isomerization and carbonylation of alkenes but also promotes the selective decomposition of HCOOH to CO under mild conditions.

Efficient palladium-catalyzed C–H ethoxycarbonylation of 2-aryl-1,2,3-triazoles was developed by using diethyl azodicarboxylate as the esterification reagent. A wide variety of aryl esters containing 1,2,3-triazoles were obtained in moderate to good yields. In addition, density functional theory calculations were used to enhance the mechanistic studies.

Mechanistic studies of the catalyst [Pd2(dba)3/1,1′-bis(tert-butyl(pyridin-2-yl)phosphanyl)ferrocene, L2] for olefin alkoxycarbonylation reactions are described., Mechanistic studies of the catalyst [Pd2(dba)3/1,1′-bis(tert-butyl(pyridin-2-yl)phosphanyl)ferrocene, L2] for olefin alkoxycarbonylation reactions are described. X-ray crystallography reveals the coordination of the pyridyl nitrogen atom in L2 to the palladium center of the catalytic intermediates. DFT calculations on the elementary steps of the industrially relevant carbonylation of ethylene (the Lucite α-process) indicate that the protonated pyridyl moiety is formed immediately, which facilitates the formation of the active palladium hydride complex. The insertion of ethylene and CO into this intermediate leads to the corresponding palladium acyl species, which is kinetically reversible. Notably, this key species is stabilized by the hemilabile coordination of the pyridyl nitrogen atom in L2. The rate-determining alcoholysis of the acyl palladium complex is substantially facilitated by metal–ligand cooperation. Specifically, the deprotonation of the alcohol by the built-in base of the ligand allows a facile intramolecular nucleophilic attack on the acyl palladium species concertedly. Kinetic measurements support this mechanistic proposal and show that the rate of the carbonylation step is zero-order dependent on ethylene and CO. Comparing CH3OD and CH3OH as nucleophiles suggests the involvement of (de)protonation in the rate-determining step.

A general palladium-catalyzed synthesis of linear esters directly from sec- and tert-alcohols is described. Compared to the classic Koch–Haaf reaction, which leads to branched products, this new transformation gives the corresponding linear esters in high yields and selectivity. Key for this protocol is the use of an advanced palladium catalyst system with L2 (pytbpx) as the ligand. A variety of aliphatic and benzylic alcohols can be directly used and the catalyst efficiency for the benchmark reaction is outstanding (turnover number up to 89 000).

An efficient synthesis of bis(indolyl)methanes from aldehydes with indoles through graphene oxide -catalyzed Friedel-Crafts alkylation is developed. The reaction proceeds in water by using graphene oxide as the single catalyst to provide the desired products in good to excellent yields. Also, this methodology has a broad substrate scope, and is environment friendly and cost economic.

A moisture- and air-stable palladium(II)-Schiff base complex supported on h-BN was simply prepared by using commercially available reagents. This nanomaterial was applied as an excellent and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for the Suzuki and Heck cross-coupling reactions. And it has been characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, XPS, TG and ICP-AES techniques. High yields, ligand-free, low reaction time, water as solvent, non-toxicity and recyclability of the catalyst are the main merits of these protocols. In addition, a series of pharmacologically relevant products were successfully synthesized using this catalyst. Above all, this work opens up an interesting and attractive avenue for the use of h-BN as an efficient support for heterogeneous catalysts.

A copper-γ-cyclodextrin complex immobilized on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN@γ-CD@Cu(OAc)2) has been prepared for the first time. This recoverable and reusable heterogeneous catalyst can be used in the click synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles via a one-pot three-component reaction of boracic acid, terminal alkynes, and sodium azide at room temperature in water. FT-IR, XRD, SEM, XPS, TG, and ICP-AES techniques were used to characterize the catalyst. In general, this reaction, with the aid of this new catalyst, afforded the corresponding products with good yields and excellent tolerance of the functional groups.

Upgrading C1 chemicals (for example, CO, CO/H2, MeOH and CO2) with C–C bond formation is essential for the synthesis of bulk chemicals. In general, these industrially important processes (for example, Fischer Tropsch) proceed at drastic reaction conditions (>250 °C; high pressure) and suffer from low selectivity, which makes high capital investment necessary and requires additional purifications. Here, a different strategy for the preparation of ethylene glycol (EG) via initial oxidative coupling and subsequent reduction is presented. Separating coupling and reduction steps allows for a completely selective formation of EG (99%) from CO. This two-step catalytic procedure makes use of a Pd-catalysed oxycarbonylation of amines to oxamides at room temperature (RT) and subsequent Ru- or Fe-catalysed hydrogenation to EG. Notably, in the first step the required amines can be efficiently reused. The presented stepwise oxamide-mediated coupling provides the basis for a new strategy for selective upgrading of C1 chemicals., Conversion of one-carbon feedstocks to more complex structures is vital for the production of bulk chemicals. Here, the authors report a highly selective method for the conversion of carbon monoxide to ethylene glycol by means of an oxamide intermediate.

The development of ligands plays a key role and provides important innovations in homogeneous catalysis. In this context, we report a novel class of ferrocenyl phosphines for the alkoxycarbonylation of industrially important alkenes. A basic feature of our ligands is the combination of sterically hindered and amphoteric moieties on the P atoms, which leads to improved activity and productivity for alkoxycarbonylation reactions compared to the current industrial state-of-the-art ligand 1,2-bis((di-tert-butylphosphino)methyl)benzene). Advantageously, palladium catalysts with these novel ligands also enable such transformations without additional acid under milder reaction conditions. The practicability of the optimized ligand was demonstrated by preparation on >10 g scale and its use in palladium-catalyzed carbonylations on kilogram scale.

An environmentally friendly palladium(II) catalyst supported on cyclodextrin-modified h-BN was successfully prepared. The catalyst was characterized by FT-IR, SEM, TG, XRD and XPS, and the loading level of Pd in h-BN@β-CD@Pd(II) was measured to be 0.088 mmol g−1 by ICP. It exhibits excellent catalytic activity for the Suzuki and Heck reactions in water, and can be easily separated and consecutively reused for at least nine times. In addition, a series of pharmacologically interesting products were successfully synthesized using this catalyst to demonstrate its potential applications in pharmaceutical industries. Above all, this work opens up an interesting and attractive avenue for the use of cyclodextrin-functionalized h-BN as an efficient support for hydrophilic heterogeneous catalysts.