Unconventional mechanism and selectivity of the Pd-catalyzed C–H bond lactonization in aromatic carboxylic acid

Abstract

Methods to functionalize inert C–H bonds are a critical focus of synthetic organic chemistry. In this work the authors use computations and experiments to uncover the mechanisms of palladium-catalysed C–H lactonizations in aromatic carboxylic acids, and explain the origin of an observed preference for functionalization of a C(sp3)–H bond over a C(sp2)–H bond in a recent report.