Enantioselective, Palladium-Catalyzed Conjugate Additions of Arylboronic Acids to Form Bis-benzylic Quaternary Stereocenters

We report enantioselective, palladium-catalyzed conjugate additions of arylboronic acids to β-aryl, β,β-disubstituted enones to generate ketones containing bis-benzylic quaternary stereocenters. A catalyst generated from palladium trifluoroacetate and (S)-4-tert-butyl-2-(2-pyridyl)­oxazoline ligand ((S)-t-BuPyOx) promotes conjugate additions of a wide range of arylboronic acids to a variety of β-aryl, β,β-disubstituted enones. Iterative addition of the arylboronic acid to minimize undesired protodeboronation pathways leads to efficient formation of the corresponding ketones containing bis-benzylic quaternary stereocenters in up to 92% yield and up to 93% enantioselectivity.