Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric migratory diarylation of unactivated directing-group-free internal alkenes
Enantioselective dicarbofunctionalization of alkenes is a powerful strategy for constructing functionalized sp³-rich molecules, yet it remains challenging for unactivated substrates lacking directing groups. While asymmetric multicomponent reactions catalyzed by d¹⁰ transition metals have advanced for activated alkenes, enantioselective multicomponent cross-coupling of unactivated alkenes, particularly enabling remote functionalization to stereoselectively generate the nonadjacent stereocenters, is still underdeveloped. Herein, we report a palladium-catalyzed asymmetric migratory dicarbofunctionalization of directing-group-free, trisubstituted unactivated alkenes. This method forges remote stereogenic centers, enabling both 1,3-diarylation and 1,4-diarylation with high enantioselectivity and diastereoselectivity. Mechanistic studies indicate a chain-walking process involving irreversible Pd-H migration, rationalizing the observed regiocontrol.
Authors
- Wenyi Huang
- Linlin Fan
- Jingping Qu
- Yifeng Chen
- Wei-Hong Zhu
- Honglei Gu
- Yang Xi
Institutions
- East China University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (CN)
- Henan Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2026-01-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-68006-7
- Primary Topic
- Catalytic C–H Functionalization Methods
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
- East China University of Science and Technology
- Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality
- Project 211
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities