Abstract
Having a variety of species including radicals, cations, anions, and transition metal species as part of the repertoire, carbonylation chemistry is becoming more and more rich in synthetic methodology. Recent innovations with regard to the reaction devices available for carbonylation have been significant, including autoclaves that have the ability to permit light irradiation under CO pressure, compact CO boosters to create very high CO pressure conditions, flow reactor systems equipped with a mass flow controllers to ensure excellent gas-liquid mixing, and twin-tube reactors available for carbonylation with ex-situ generated CO. In this account, we survey the recent evolution of modern carbonylation techniques beginning with novel carbonylation reactions developed in our laboratory, like borohydride-mediated carbonylation, light induced carbonylation, and carbonylation based on radical/ion hybrid reactions. We believe that with innovations in synthetic methods and equipment, each carbonylation reaction will be easily run in a device specifically suitable for optimal performance in that reaction.
