Testing phosphanes in the palladium-catalysed allylation of secondary and primary amines

The electronic nature of the ligand plays a crucial role in the palladium-catalysed allylation of amines with allyic alcohols. The better the ligand is as a mu acceptor, the more active the catalyst. Experiments with a series with mono- and bidentate ligands featuring phosphanes and phospholes applied in the catalytic allylation of aniline clearly demonstrate this. Bolstered by DFT calculations, we have devised a new efficient catalyst for this process which carries the strong mu acceptor 1,2,5-triphenylphosphole as a ligand.