Continuous-flow Synthesis of Aryl Aldehydes by Pd-catalyzed Formylation of Aryl Bromides Using Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen

A continuous-flow protocol utilizing syngas (CO and H-2) was developed for the palladium-catalyzed reductive carbonylation of (hetero)aryl bromides to their corresponding (hetero)aryl aldehydes. The optimization of temperature, pressure, catalyst and ligand loading, and residence time resulted in process-intensified flow conditions for the transformation. In addition, a key benefit of investigating the reaction in flow is the ability to precisely control the CO-to-H-2 stoichiometric ratio, which was identified as having a critical influence on yield. The protocol proceeds with low catalyst and ligand loadings: palladium acetate (1 mol % or below) and cataCXium A (3 mol % or below). A variety of (hetero)aryl bromides at a 3 mmol scale were converted to their corresponding (hetero)aryl aldehydes at 12 bar pressure (CO/H-2=1:3) and 120 degrees C reaction temperature within 45 min residence time to afford products mostly in good-to-excellent yields (17 examples). In particular, a successful scale-up was achieved over 415 min operation time for the reductive carbonylation of 2-bromo-6-methoxynaphthalene to synthesize 3.8 g of 6-methoxy-2-naphthaldehyde in 85 % isolated yield. Studies were conducted to understand catalyst decomposition within the reactor by using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis. The palladium could easily be recovered using an aqueous nitric acid wash post reaction. Mechanistic aspects and the scope of the transformation are discussed.