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Updated: May 30, 2026

Facile Preparation of (2Z,4E)-Dienamides by the Olefination of Electron-deficient Alkenes with Allyl Acetate
Published on: June 21, 2017
Deacylative allylation: allylic alkylation via retro-Claisen activation
Alexander J Grenning1, Jon A Tunge
1Department of Chemistry, The University of Kansas, 1251 Wescoe Hall Drive, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7528, USA.
Abstract:
A new method for allylic alkylation of a variety of relatively nonstabilized carbon nucleophiles is described herein. In this process of "deacylative allylation", the coupling partners, an allylic alcohol and a ketone pronucleophile, undergo in situ retro-Claisen activation to generate an allylic acetate and a carbanion. In the presence of palladium, these reactive intermediates undergo catalytic coupling to form a new C-C bond. In comparison to unimolecular decarboxylative allylation, a commonly utilized method for allylation of carbon anions, deacylative allylation is an intermolecular process. Moreover, deacylative allylation allows the direct coupling of readily available allylic alcohols. Lastly, the full utility of deacylative allylation is demonstrated by the rapid construction of a variety 1,6-heptadienes via 3-component couplings.
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