Acetal ligands organic synthesis

The (7r-aIlyl)palIadium(II) complexes formed by oxidative addition have been extensively applied to catalytic organic synthesis. Representative examples are shovv n in eq (106)-(111) [139-142]. A variety of allyiic substrates have been employed as the source of the ally ligand, including allylic acetates, chlorides, epoxides, and carbonates. 

In contrast to the processes based on the external attack of a nucleophile on the coordinated CO or olefin ligands on Pd(II) species, where re-oxidation of the Pd(0) produced to reactive Pd(II) presents a considerable problem, no such problem is involved in reaction of a Pd(0) complex with allylic substrates. As we have already discussed in Schemes 1.9 and 1.10, allylic compounds such as allylic acetates or carbonates readily oxidatively add to Pd(0) species to form 7 -allyl palladium(II) complexes that are susceptible to nucleophilic attack. The catalytic process converting allylic substrates to produce allylation products of nucleophiles has found extensive uses in organic synthesis, notably in the work of Tsuji and Trost. Employment of a chiral ligand in the catalytic allylation of nucleophiles allows catalytic asymmetric synthesis of allylation... 

Thanks to the fundamental studies of Tsuji, Trost, and others, palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution has become a versatile, widely used process in organic synthesis [40]. The search for efficient enantioselective catalysts for this class of reactions is an important goal of current research in this field [41]. It has been shown that chiral phosphine ligands can induce substantial enantiomeric excesses in Pd-catalyzed reactions of racemic or achiral allylic substrates with nucleophiles [42]. Recently, promising results have also been obtained with chiral bidentate nitrogen ligands [43]. We have found that palladium complexes of neutral aza-semicorrin or methylene-bis(oxazoline) ligands are effective catalysts for the enantioselective allylic alkylation of l,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate or related substrates with dimethyl malonate (Schemes 18 [25,30] and 19 [44]). 

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