The palladium-catalyzed cyanation of Ar-X (X = I, Br, Cl, OTf, and H) allows for an efficient access towards benzonitriles. After its discovery in 1973 and following significant improvements in recent decades, this methodology has become nowadays the most popular for preparation of substituted aromatic nitriles. In this critical review, we summarize the important developments in this area from 2000 until 2010 (151 references).
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