Stereoselective Synthesis of Highly Substituted Conjugated Dienes via Pd-Catalyzed Carbonylation of 1,3-Diynes

Increasing molecular complexity in a straightforward fashion like a pendulum experiment is possible with the stereoselective palladium-catalyzed double carbonylation of 1,3-diynes. In their Communication (DOI: 10.1002/anie.201903533) M. Beller et al. apply this reaction to the construction of important intermediates en route to natural products like rac-cagayanin, rac-galbulin, rac-agastinol and cannabisin. The background shows the beautiful North Sea cliffs found in northeast Germany.