Traversing Steric Limitations by Cooperative Lewis Base/Palladium Catalysis: an Enantioselective Synthesis of Α‐branched Esters Using 2‐substituted Allyl Electrophiles

AbstractCooperative catalysis enables the direct enantioselective α‐allylation of linear prochiral esters with 2‐substituted allyl electrophiles. Critical to the successful development of the method was the recognition that metal‐centered reactivity and the source of enantiocontrol are independent. This feature is unique to simultaneous catalysis events and permits logical tuning of the supporting ligands without compromising enantioselectivity.