| Abstract: | Phenol and its derivatives are extremely useful compounds in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry and material sciences. The synthesis of phenols involving selective construction of the C?O bond at a C?H bond of arenes using transition‐metal catalysis represents the most appealing strategy. Indeed, active research is currently going on for the synthesis of valuable phenolic compounds using a transition‐metal‐catalyzed C?H functionalization strategy. This short review summarizes recent advances on palladium‐catalyzed C?O bond forming reactions that enable direct access to phenolic compounds. These catalytic reactions proceed either via C?H esterification with trifluoroacetic acid/trifluoroacetic anhydride followed by in situ hydrolysis of the ester or via direct C?H hydroxylation. A brief analysis of substrate scope and limitation, reaction mechanism as well as synthetic utility of these reactions has been included. |
