Cooperativity between the Substrate and Ligand in Palladium-Catalyzed Allylic Alkylation Using 1-Aryl-1-propynes

A monoprotected amino acid Bz-Gly-OH assists in the allylic alkylation of a variety of ketones, β-keto esters, aldehydes, etc., during enamine-palladium catalysis. Density functional theory calculations reveal that Bz-Gly-OH assists in the formation of an enamine that attacks the π-allylpalladium complex via an outer sphere mechanism. The preliminary result points to an asymmetric allylic alkylation under a new mode of bifunctional catalysis.