Industrial R&D on catalytic C-C and C-N coupling reactions: A personal account on goals, approaches and results

R&D issues for the application of Pd- and Ni-catalyzed C-C and C-N coupling reactions in the fine chemicals industry are discussed. In a first part, some background is given on industrial R&D and the role of C-C and C-N coupling for preparative applications is described. The following principal approaches to industrial research are illustrated with relevant examples from the literature and from our own laboratories: i) development of catalysts and catalytic methodologies with industrial potential; ii) finding shorter routes to target molecules using catalytic methods; iii) development of industrial catalytic processes in multi-step syntheses. 1 Introduction 2 Development of Catalysts and Catalytic Methodologies with Industrial Potential 2.1 Development of Catalytic Systems with Very High Turnover Numbers 2.2 New Substrates for Heck-Type Arylation Reactions 2.3 Catalysts for C-C and C-N Coupling Reactions with Aryl Chlorides 2.4 Carbonylation of Aryl and Heteroaryl Halides 2.5 Replacing Pd by Ni Catalysts 2.6 Optimized Protocol for the Pd-Catalyzed Synthesis of Arylmalononitriles 2.7 Catalyst Separation and Removal of Trace Metals 3 Design and Implementation of Catalytic Processes 3.1 Strategies 3.2 Industrial Applications of C-C and C-N Coupling Reactions.