Palladium‐catalyzed carbonylation of quaternary ammonium halides to tertiary amides

Catalytic carbonylation of quaternary ammonium salts under anhydrous conditions was investigated using palladium catalyst. The carbonylation of tetramethylammonium iodide was chosen as a model reaction and studied systematically. Ligand‐free PdCl₂ showed efficient catalytic performance for this transformation. A palladium catalyst loading as low as 0.05 mol% was sufficient for high yield (96.9%) of N,N‐dimethylacetamide, corresponding to a turnover frequency of 242 h^?1. Under optimum conditions, several other quaternary ammonium halides were also carbonylated to corresponding tertiary amides in moderate to excellent yields. The catalytic activity of commercial palladium on activated carbon (Pd/C) catalyst was also evaluated. The Pd/C catalyst exhibited high activity for this carbonylation reaction and could be recycled six times with a slight decrease in activity. Furthermore, mechanistic considerations concerning Pd‐catalyzed carbonylation of quaternary ammonium halides were also discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.