Chasing the proton culprit from palladium-catalyzed allylic amination

We have found that the addition of base has a significant effect on palladium-catalyzed allylic amination. The long-standing problem of controlling the branched-to-linear ratio has been solved. In the presence of DBU and inexpensive, readily available ligands, palladium-catalyzed allylation proceeds under kinetic control, leading to high branched selectivity. Given the widespread utility of palladium-catalyzed allylic amination, we expect that these findings will be relevant in many areas ranging from asymmetric catalysis to target-oriented synthesis.