Enantioselective and Stereoconvergent anti-carboboration of alkenyl carbonyl compounds

Today we report our first foray into the enantioselective 1,2-difunctionalization of alkenes, with a new method for palladium(II)-catalyzed asymmetric anti-carboboration. The reaction is promoted by a palladium(II) catalyst and a mono-dentate oxazoline (MOX) ligand. This reaction was found to be stereoconvergent, with both E- and Z-configured alkenes giving the same major diastereomer. Mechanistic studies were performed to shed light on the origin of this phenomenon. A pre-print of this work is available on ChemRxiv (click here). Congrats to the authors, Zhen, Xiaohan, and May, particularly our two undergraduate co-authors Xiaohan and May.

carboboration2