Highly selective Pd-catalyzed hydroxycarbonylation of styrene.

The hydrocarboxylation of styrene in the presence of PdCl2(PPh3)2 was studied to investigate the influence of the nature of the solvent, promoters, and reaction conditions on the yield of the target 2-phenylpropionic acid. Cation exchange resins Amberlyst 15 and KU-2 were proposed as suitable alternatives to liquid acid promoters, making it possible to achieve a high catalytic activity with up to 99% regioselectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]