Branched/linear selectivity in palladium-catalyzed allyl-allyl cross-couplings: the role of ligands

While Pd-catalyzed allyl-allyl cross-couplings in the presence of small-bite-angle bidentate ligands reliably furnish the branched regioisomer with high levels of selectivity, cross-couplings in the presence of large-bite-angle bidentate ligands give varying, often unpredictable, levels of selectivity. In a combined computational and experimental study, we probe the underlying features that govern the regioselectivity in these metal-catalyzed cross-couplings.

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