Palladium-catalyzed addition of mono- and dicarbonyl compounds to conjugated dienes.

An intermolecular, palladium-catalyzed addition of the alpha-C-H bond of monocarbonyl and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to dienes has been developed, and an exploration of the scope of these reactions with a broad range of carbonyl compounds and nitriles was conducted. The combination of CpPd(allyl) and the commercially available 1,3-bis(dicyclohexylphosphino)propane (DCyPP) catalyzed the 1:1 addition of the C-H bonds of these substrates to dienes in high yields. These reactions included unusual additions of the C-H bonds of ketones, lactones, esters, and nitriles to dienes, as well as the more common additions of cyanoesters, malononitrile, and alpha-sulfonyl esters. Reactions of these substrates with both cyclic and acyclic dienes are reported. Reactions catalyzed by complexes of nonracemic chiral ligands were also conducted, and the first enantioselective version of this reaction was achieved with a Josiphos ligand with enantioselectivities up to 81%.