Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.140, No.32, 10109-10112, 2018
Catalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of Acyclic Quaternary Centers: Palladium-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Allylic Alkylation of Fully Substituted Acyclic Enol Carbonates
The first enantioselective palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative allylic alkylation of fully substituted acyclic enol carbonates providing linear alpha-quaternary ketones is reported. Investigation into the reaction revealed that the use of an electron-deficient phosphin-ooxazoline ligand renders the enolate geometry of the starting material inconsequential, with the same enantiomer of product obtained in the same level of selectivity regardless of the starting ratio of enolates. As a result, a general method toward acyclic all-carbon quaternary stereocenters has been developed.