Carbonylative Cross-Electrophile Coupling Between Aryl Bromides and Aryl Triflates Enabled by Palladium and Rhodium Cooperative Catalysis

Ketones are among the most useful functional groups in organic synthesis. Here, we report the first carbonylative cross-electrophile coupling reaction that utilize carbon monoxide gas as the carbonyl source. The use of Pd/Rh cooperative catalysis enables the carbonylative coupling of easily accessible aryl triflates and aryl bromides. Unlike all previous carbonylative cross-electrophile coupling reactions, the method does not require addition of a stoichiometric metal reductant.