CO pressure as a key factor for the palladium-catalyzed methoxycarbonylation of benzyl chloride under mild conditions Original Research Article

Palladium-catalyzed methoxycarbonylation of benzyl chloride was investigated at low temperature and low carbon monoxide pressure. The presence of benzylpalladium moiety at the beginning of the reaction (before CO addition), a low CO pressure and a moderate stirring rate are needed to achieve the reaction with high efficiency. Increasing the CO pressure or the stirring rate leads to the deactivation of the catalyst by formation of palladium carbonyl species.