A facile approach to β-amino acid derivatives via palladium-catalyzed hydrocarboxylation of enimides with formic acid

An effective Pd(0)-catalyzed hydrocarboxylation of enimides with formic acid in the presence of a catalytic amount of HCOOPh is described. A variety of beta-amino acid derivatives are obtained in good yields with high regioselectivities without using external toxic CO gas.