A wide variety of 3,4-disubstituted isoquinolines containing an aryl, allylic, benzylic, alkynyl and vinylic group at the 4 position have been prepared via cross-coupling of 2-(1-alkynyl)benzaldimines with organic halides in the presence of a palladium catalyst. The best results are obtained by employing 5 mol% Pd(PPh3)4, 5 equiv of K2CO 3 in DMF at 100°C. The electronic effect of the imine substrates and organic halides on the yields has been discussed.;3-Substituted 4-aroylisoquinolines have been prepared in high yields via carbonylative cross-coupling of 2-(1-alkynyl)benzaldimines with aromatic iodides or aroyl chlorides in the presence of a palladium catalyst under 1 atm of CO pressure. Imine substrates having an aryl, vinylic or alkyl substituent on the distal end of the triple bond all undergo this palladium-catalyzed carbonylative cross-coupling cyclization in high yields.;The palladium(II)-catalyzed oxidative carbonylation of 2-(1-alkynyl)benzaldimines for synthesis of the corresponding isoquinoline-4-carboxylates has been studied and the optimal reaction conditions have been investigated. Although this methodology study has not provided an efficient route to synthesize methyl 3-substituted isoquinoline-4-carboxylates in synthetically useful yields, it provides an insight into the nature of the palladium-catalyzed cyclization reactions promoted by organopalladium intermediates.;A novel intramolecular alkyl-to-aryl palladium rearrangement has been observed by trapping the arylpalladium intermediate with an olefin by a Heck reaction. The reaction conditions have been optimized and the reaction scope has been extensively studied. In all of the successful examples, migration products were isolated exclusively. In addition, this alkyl-to-aryl palladium migration can be controlled by simply modifying the reaction conditions.