Microwave-Promoted Aminocarbonylation of Aryl Halides in Water

Significance

Direct carbonylation of aryl halides is an important method of C-C bond formation for the chemical industry. In lab-scale syntheses, it is less common due to the difficulties with the handling of toxic gaseous CO. This new method uses stable solid Mo(CO)₆, as well as modern microwave-accelerated chemistry. It is nicely combined with the use of pure water as a ‘green’ solvent. The direct aminocarbonylation reaction, performed according to this protocol, can be an extremely useful transformation for combinatorial synthesis, which allows simple one-step introduction of a great diversity of pharmacophore groups into the substrate molecules.