Palladium-Catalyzed Cyclization-Heck Reaction of Allenamides: An Approach to 3-Methylene-5-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine Derivatives

An efficient one-pot construction of functionalized 3-methylene-5-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine derivatives via palladium-catalyzed cyclization-Heck reaction of allenamides has been described. The 3-methylene-5-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine derivatives feature a nonconjugated diene, including one endo-enamine and one exocyclic double bond, which could be used for further transformation. Both aryl and vinyl halides performed very well under the standard conditions, delivering the corresponding products efficiently.