Abstract:

α-Arylpropionic acids are a class of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with a substantial size of market. Ibuprofen and naproxen are the important members of this family. Since carbonylation catalyzed by transition metal complexes provides an environmentally benign process for their synthesis, there have been numerous patents and publications related to the carbonylation of alcohols and olefins to produce α-arylpropionic acids or their esters^[1-4]. We have studied the carbonylation of α-(6'-methoxy-2'-naphthyl) ethanol to methyl ester of naproxen using PVP-PdCl₂-CuCl₂/PPh₃ catalyst system. Good conversion and selectivity were obtained under mild conditions.