Regioselective Pd-catalyzed methoxycarbonylation of alkenes using both paraformaldehyde and methanol as CO surrogates.

In recent years, considerable effort has focused on the development of novel carbonylative transformations using CO surrogates. Consequently, toxic CO gas can be replaced by more convenient inorganic or organic carbonyl compounds. Herein, the first regioselective methoxycarbonylation of alkenes with paraformaldehyde and methanol as CO substitutes is reported. This new procedure is applicable to a series of alkenes in the presence of a palladium catalyst under relatively mild conditions and is highly atom efficient.