Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling of aryl carboxylic acids with propiophenones through a combination of decarboxylation and dehydrogenation.

A Heck of a reaction: With a PCy(3)-supported Pd catalyst, aryl carboxylic acids cross-couple to saturated propiophenones through a combination of decarboxylation and dehydrogenation to give chalcones bearing a variety of functional groups in generally good yields (see scheme). Furthermore, a one-pot procedure, involving this reaction and a subsequent selective hydrogenative cyclization process, has been developed for the facile synthesis of quinoline derivatives from 2-nitrobenzoic acids.