Synthesis of β-Lactams by Palladium(0)-Catalyzed C(sp3 )-H Carbamoylation.

A general and user-friendly synthesis of β-lactams is reported that makes use of Pd0 -catalyzed carbamoylation of C(sp3 )-H bonds, and operates under stoichiometric carbon monoxide in a two-chamber reactor. This reaction is compatible with a range of primary, secondary and activated tertiary C-H bonds, in contrast to previous methods based on C(sp3 )-H activation. In addition, the feasibility of an enantioselective version using a chiral phosphonite ligand is demonstrated. Finally, this method can be employed to synthesize valuable enantiopure free β-lactams and β-amino acids.