From anilines to isatins: oxidative palladium-catalyzed double carbonylation of C-H bonds.

A novel palladium-catalyzed C-H double carbonylation introduces two adjacent carbonyl groups for the synthesis of isatins from readily available anilines. The reaction proceeds under atmospheric pressure of CO with high regioselectivity and without any additives. Density functional theory investigations indicate that the palladium-catalyzed double carbonylation catalytic cycle is plausible.