Introduction of the 4,4,4-Trifluorobut-2-ene Chain Exploiting a Regioselective Tsuji–Trost Reaction Catalyzed by Palladium Nanoparticles

A palladium-nanoparticle-catalyzed Tsuji-Trost reaction of 4,4,4-trifluorobut-2-en-1-yl acetate and ethyl(4,4,4-trifluorobut-2-en-1-yl)carbonate was accomplished with various nucleophiles including phenols, amines, and malonates. In the case of the phenols, isomerization of the double bond in the product (up to 20%) was observed as a side reaction. Further synthetic transformations including hydrogenation, the Diels-Alder reaction, and asymmetric dihydroxylation of a product were also examined.