oa The Use of Palladium Compounds in Organic Synthesis

Until the discovery of the Wacker reaction – the palladium-catalysed oxidation of ethylene to acetaldehyde – some ten years ago, the only application of palladium in organic synthesis was as a hydrogenation catalyst. In more recent years a number of new reactions have been found to be catalysed solely by palladium and its compounds, especially interesting reactions being those in which new carbon to carbon bonds are formed by the insertion of carbon monoxide into unsaturated molecules.