Palladium-Catalyzed Catellani ortho-Acylation Reaction: An Efficient and Regiospecific Synthesis of Diaryl Ketones.

A palladium-catalyzed, norbornene-mediated Catellani ortho-acylation reaction was developed by the use of either acyl chlorides or acid anhydrides as acylation reagents. The addition of more than a stoichiometric amount of H2 O is crucial for this transformation when acid chlorides are used, and kinetic studies indicate that the active acylation reagent is possibly an acid anhydride.