Synergistic N-Heterocyclic Carbene/Palladium-Catalyzed [3 + 2] Annulation of Vinyl Enolates with 1-Tosyl-2-vinylaziridine

The synergistic combination of N-heterocyclic carbene organocatalysis and transition-metal catalysis for a formal [3 + 2] annulation between 3-substituted but-2-enoates and 1-tosyl-2-vinylaziridine was developed. This cooperative strategy provides a facile and efficient access to various functionalized (E)-3-ethylidene-4-vinylpyrrolidin-2-ones in a regioselective and stereoselective manner. The preliminary asymmetric studies were also performed, which indicated a potential for enantioselective annulation of vinyl enolate intermediates with transition-metal−π-allyl species.