Carbonylation of piperidine in the presence of a monotriphenylphosphine complex of palladium

1. A phosphine-palladium complex catalyst has been proposed for carbonylation of piperidine to N-for-mylpiperidine in the absence of solvent. The catalyst has high stability. 2. A mechanism for activation of the CO molecule has been proposed, which involves formation of a radical anion in the coordination sphere of the complex and its subsequent reaction with piperidine to form N-for-mylpiperidine.