Amphiphilic Allylic Alkylation with Allyl Alcohols Promoted by Pd-Catalyst and Triethylborane

The combination of Pd catalyst and triethylborane induces allylic alcohols to undergo direct electrophilic allylation of soft nucleophiles. Similar conditions also accelerate nucleophilic allylations of aldehydes and aldimines to provide homoallyl alcohols and homoallylamines, respectively. Moreover, 2-methylenepropane-1,3-diol undergoes a sequential amphiphilic activation to react with aldehydes and aldimines, giving rise to 3-methylenecyclopentanols and 3-methylenepyrrolidines.