A first example of a palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution reaction at a perfluoroalkylene-attached asymmetric carbon center with carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen nucleophiles

Abstract

Palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution reaction of ethyl tetrafluorocyclopentenyl carbonate or tetrafluorocyclopentenyl methanesulfonate with carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen nucleophiles was systematically investigated. As a result, malonate-derived enolates as a carbon nucleophile, primary and secondary amines as a nitrogen nucleophile, and phenoxide derivatives as an oxygen nucleophile participated all in the reaction very well to furnish the corresponding allylated malonates, allylic amines, and allyl aryl ethers in high yields, respectively. DFT calculations of the reaction mechanism indicate that the direction of nucleophile's attack in the case of carbon nucleophiles, unlike other nucleophiles, is considerably off from the ideal direction, and thus the distance of the newly formed carbon-carbon bond is also considerably longer than the commonly accepted one. It was found then that the activation energies for reactions with carbon nucleophiles were considerably larger than those for reactions with nitrogen or oxygen nucleophiles, and hence the reaction with carbon nucleophiles is less likely proceed.