Ligand-Dependent Regiodivergent Enantioselective Allylic Alkylations of α-Trifluoromethylated Ketones.

The asymmetric introduction of the CF3 unit is a powerful tool for modifying pharmacokinetic properties and slowing metabolic degradation in medicinal chemistry. A catalytic and enantioselective addition of α-CF3 enolates allows for expeditious access to functionalized chiral building blocks with CF3-containing stereogenicity. The computational studies reveal that the choice of ligand in a designed palladium-complex system regulates the regioselectivity and stereoselectivity of the asymmetric allylic alkyation of α-CF3 ketones and Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts.