Facile synthesis of dibranched conjugated dienes via palladium-catalyzed oxidative coupling of N-tosylhydrazones

A facile and highly regioselective Pd-catalyzed oxidative coupling of N-tosylhydrazones providing efficient access to 2,3-disubstituted-1,3-butadienes has been developed. This process features readily available starting materials and mild reaction conditions. Further transformations of the obtained dibranched 1,3-dienes, through Diels-Alder reactions and indene synthesis, are also demonstrated, which reveal their great potential for synthetic utility.