Regioselectivity switch achieved in the palladium catalyzed α-arylation of enones by employing the modified Kuwajima-Urabe conditions

Org Lett. 2012 Apr 6;14(7):1808-11. doi: 10.1021/ol300401c. Epub 2012 Mar 20.

Abstract

A new regioselective approach to the synthesis of α-aryl enones is reported. This represents an important application of the Kuwajima-Urabe protocol toward the synthesis of this simple albeit complex functional array. Several α-aryl enones were synthesized by the palladium catalyzed arylation of triethylsilylenol ethers of enones with high regioselectivity and broad scope, utilizing sterically encumbered electron-rich phosphine ligands to drive the reaction.