An Efficient Approach to Regio- and Stereodefined Fully-Substituted Alkenylsilanes by Pd-Catalyzed Allenic C(sp³ )-H...

A highly efficient palladium-catalyzed functionalization of allenylsilanes to give regio- and stereodefined fully-substituted alkenylsilanes has been developed. This oxidative coupling reaction showed good functional group compatibility with exclusive regio- and stereoselectivity. The pending olefin on the silyl group was shown to be an indispensable element for the initial allenic C(sp³ )-H bond cleavage, and performs as the directing group to control the overall selectivity. The addition of substoichiometric amounts of Et₃ N was found to increase the reaction rate leading to a higher reaction yield. The reaction can be easily scaled up and applied for the late-stage functionalization of natural products and pharmaceutical compounds, including amino acids and steroid derivatives. The newly introduced functional groups include aryl, alkynyl, and boryl groups. The highly strained four-membered ring, silacyclobutene was obtained when B₂ pin₂ was employed as the coupling partner. Mechanistic studies, including kinetic isotope effects, showed that the allenic C(sp³ )-H bond cleavage is the rate-limiting step.