Alkenyl Carbonyl Derivatives in Enantioselective Redox Relay Heck Reactions: Accessing α,β-Unsaturated Systems

A highly enantioselective and site-selective Pd-catalyzed arylation of alkenes linked to carbonyl derivatives to yield alpha,beta-unsaturated systems is reported. The high site selectivity is attributed to both a solvent effect and the polarized nature of the carbonyl group, both of which have been analyzed through multidimensional analysis tools. The reaction can be performed in an iterative fashion allowing for a diastereoselective installation of two aryl groups along an alkyl chain.