An Efficient and General Method for Formylation of Aryl Bromides with CO2 and Poly(methylhydrosiloxane)

The formylation of aryl halides with CO2 to generate aryl aldehydes is challenging. Herein, we report a novel synthesis of aryl aldehydes by formylation of aryl bromides with CO2 and a waste silane, poly(methylhydrosiloxane) (PMHS). It has been discovered that a simple combination of 1,3-bis(diphenyphosphino) propane (DPPP)-chelated Pd catalyst, Pd(DPPP)Cl-2, with 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) is able to effectively catalyze the reaction, leading to aryl aldehydes in moderate to excellent yields, and without any by-products in most cases. Moreover, this route could be extended to the formylation of aryl iodides with high efficiency. This approach is simple, less costly, and environmentally friendly, and also widens the applications of CO2 to form value-added chemicals by the construction of new C-C bonds.