Methanolysis of thioamide promoted by a simple palladacycle is accelerated by 10(8) over the methoxide-catalyzed reaction.

Palladacycle 1 catalyzes the methanolytic cleavage of N-methyl-N-(4-nitrophenyl)thiobenzamide (4) via a mechanism involving formation of a Pd-bound tetrahedral intermediate (TI). The rate constant for decomposition of the complex formed between 1, methoxide, and 4 is 9.3 s(-1) at 25 °C; this reaction produces methyl thiobenzoate and N-methyl-4-nitroaniline. The ratio of the second-order rate constant for the catalyzed reaction, given as k(cat)/K(d), relative to that of the methoxide-promoted reaction is 3 × 10(8), representing a very large catalysis of thioamide bond cleavage by a synthetic metal complex.