Hard Nucleophiles in the Rhodium-Catalyzed Allylic Alkylation Reaction

Hard Nucleophiles in the Rhodium-Catalyzed Allylic Alkylation Reaction 

The transition metal-catalyzed allylic substitution using hard or unstabilized nucleophiles has not been extensively studied, particularly with unsymmetrical allylic alcohol derivatives. This may be attributed to the highly reactive and basic nature of these nucleophiles and the inability to circumvent regiochemical infidehty in unsymmetrical systems. Hard nucleophiles may be characterized as those that undergo substitution with net inversion of stereochemistry [29], due to their propensity to add directly to the 

Kabalka and co-workers reported the direct cross-coupling of cinnamyl alcohols with aryl- and vinylboronic acids using simple rhodium salts in an environmentally benign ionic liquid medium (Eq. 6) [30]. The ability to utilize allylic alcohols, without activation, is significant from the viewpoint of atom economy, yet challenging due to the poor leaving group ability of hydroxide. 

Evans and Uraguchi also examined the rhodium-catalyzed allylic alkylation with hard nucleophiles [31]. Aryl organozinc halides proved optimal nucleophiles for the regio- and stereospecific allylic alkylation of enantiomerically enriched unsymmetrical allylic alcohol derivatives (Tab. 10.4). The reaction occurs with net inversion of absolute 

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