Carbonylation of Nitroarenes and Related Compounds

This chapter describes reactions in which nitroarenes are deoxygenated by carbon monoxide. Depending on the reaction investigated, an additional CO molecule may be inserted in the final product or not. Both cases will be considered. The products can be base chemicals, isocyanates, carbamates, ureas, and anilines, or fine and pharmaceutical chemicals, such as indoles, carbazoles and other N-heterocycles. The chapter starts with some general trends, followed by the description of reactions leading to the formation of base chemicals, divided according to the catalytic system employed. Then the synthesis of N-heterocycles is described, according to the specific compound obtained. Finally, the use of CO surrogates is separately described, as an emerging new field. For each topic, some general aspects are described before examining the specific results.