Palladium-Catalyzed Allylic Alkylation of Simple Ketones with Allylic Alcohols and Its Mechanistic Study

Allylic alcohols were directly used in Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylations of simple ketones under mild reaction conditions. The reaction proceeded smoothly at 20 degrees C by the concerted action of a Pd catalyst, a pyrrolidine co-catalyst, and a hydrogen-bonding solvent, and does not require any additional reagents. A computational study suggested that methanol plays a crucial role in the formation of the pi-allylpalladium complex by lowering the activation barrier.