Enantioselective construction of ortho-substituted benzylic quaternary centers using a phenanthroline-Pd catalyst.

A method for Pd-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of ortho-substituted arylboronic acids to cyclic enones was developed. The addition of various ortho-substituted arylboronic acid to β-substituted cyclic enones, via catalysis with a chiral phenanthroline-Pd complex, formed cyclic ketone products bearing ortho-substituted benzylic all-carbon quaternary centers with good yields and high enantioselectivity.