Tsuji-Trost reaction thermodynamics, catalyzed reactions

Palladium(0)-catalyzed allylation of nucleophiles (the Tsuji-Trost reaction) is a versatile synthetic method that has gained immense popularity in recent years. Rarely applied to ambident nucleophilic aromatic heterocycles before 1991, the Tsuji-Trost reaction has been extensively used in the chemistry of these compounds since 1991. Two factors have played decisive roles in this increased interest in the Pd(0)-catalyzed allylation of such heterocyclic rings one is that, unlike other alkylation procedures, the Pd(0)-catalyzed allylation can sometimes give the product of thermodynamic control when applied to ambident nucleophiles and the second is that the Tsuji-Trost allylation has become one of the standard methods for synthesizing carbanucleosides, which are important antiviral compounds (93MI1, 93MI2). Of course, the double bond of an allylic system can be modified in different directions, thus adding versatility to the Tsuji-Trost reaction. 

In one of the first papers on the subject, Billups et al. (80SC147) reported that the Pd(0)-catalyzed allylation of indole 96 with allyl acetate gave N-allyl- (97) and 3-allylindole (98) plus the diallylation product 99 (Scheme 21). They also showed that the yV-allyl isomer 97 rearranged under Pd(0) catalysis to the C-3 isomer 98, thus indicating that the formation of 98 was thermodynamically controlled (C > N). The work of Billups also includes the use of allyl alcohol instead of allyl acetate in the Tsuji-Trost reaction. 

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