A Cooperative Strategy for the Highly Selective Intermolecular Oxycarbonylation Reaction of Alkenes using a Palladium Catalyst.

A novel method for intermolecular functionalization of terminal and internal alkenes has been designed. The electrophilic reagent, hypervalent iodine, plays a key role in this process by activating the alkene C=C bond for nucleophilic addition of the palladium catalyst. This process generates an iodonium-containing palladium species which undergoes CO insertion. The new approach, intermolecular oxycarbonylaton reactions of alkenes, has been achieved and carried out under mild reaction conditions to produce the corresponding β-oxycarbonylic acids with excellent efficiencies and levels of regio- and diastereoselectivity.