Strategy for Employing Unstabilized Nucleophiles in Palladium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Allylic Alkylations

We report a strategy for the employment of highly unstabilized anions in palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylations (AAA). The "hard" 2-methylpyridyl nucleophiles studied are first reacted in situ with BF3.OEt2; subsequent deprotonation of the resulting complexes with LiHMDS affords "soft" anions that are competent nucleophiles in AAA reactions. The reaction is selective for the 2-position of methylpyridines and tolerates bulky aryl and alkyl substitution at the 3-, 4-, and 5-positions. Investigations into the reaction mechanism demonstrate that the configuration of the allylic stereocenter is retained, consistent with the canonical outer sphere mechanism invoked for palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution processes of stabilized anions.