Palladium(II)-Catalyzed Dehydrogenative Alkenylation of Cyclic Enaminones via the Fujiwara-Moritani Reaction

A new Pd(II)-catalyzed dehydrogenative alkenylation reaction involving two alkenes was developed. A variety of nonaromatic, cyclic enaminones were successfully coupled to primary and secondary alkenes yielding a series of unique 1,3-dienes. The generality of this transformation presents a useful strategy for directly cross-coupling alkenes and offers an attractive new approach to functionallze enaminones.