On the Sustainability of Palladium in Organic Synthesis: A Perspective

Abstract

What’s the long- and short-term prognosis for palladium in organic synthesis, the key platinum group metal (pgm) for transition metal-based catalysis used today by the fine chemicals industries? Are these processes green and sustainable? Are they environmentally respectful of the metals, especially the pgms, so essential to modern day society? Are non-pgm ‘earth abundant’ metals an attractive alternative? Where does the up-and-coming area of chemoenzymatic catalysis, which combines chemo- and biocatalysis in one-pot processes in water, fit into the future of drug syntheses? And what about agricultural targets also being made that include palladium catalysis? These and related timely topics are discussed in this Perspective.