Mechanism of oxidation of xylenes with Pd(II) complexes

Conclusions Oxidation of xylenes with Pd(II) complexes in acidic medium is possible according to two pathways: a) electrophilic substitution in the arene ring with the formation of an organometalic intermediate and b) one-electron transfer from the arene to the palladium atom with the intermediacy of the arene cation-radical. The relative contribution of each pathway depends on the nature of the arene and on the acidity of the medium.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2167–2174, October, 1985.