Mechanism of silver- and copper-catalyzed decarboxylation reactions of aryl carboxylic acids

Silver- and copper-catalyzed decarboxylation reactions of aryl carboxylic acids were investigated with the aid of density functional theory calculations. The reaction mechanism starts with a carboxylate complex of silver or copper. Decarboxylation occurs via ejecting CO(2) from the carboxylate complex followed by protodemetallation with an aryl carboxylic acid molecule to regenerate the starting complex. Our results indicated that the primary factor to affect the overall reaction barriers is the ortho steric destabilization effect on the starting carboxylate complexes for most cases. Certain ortho substituents that are capable of coordinating with the catalyst metal center without causing significant ring strain stabilize the decarboxylation transition states and reduce the overall reaction barriers. However, the coordination effect is found to be the secondary factor when compared with the ortho effect.