Highly Enantioselective, Base-Free Synthesis of α-Quaternary Succinimides through Catalytic Asymmetric Allylic Alkylation

The synthesis of diversely substituted five-membered ring succinimide derivatives is reported featuring a direct, base-free, palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation. The method allows a straightforward access to the desired heterocyclic scaffold bearing an all-carbon alpha-quaternary stereogenic center in high yields and good to excellent enantioselectivities. To further demonstrate the synthetic utility of the method, the allylated products were further converted to various versatile chiral building blocks, including a chiral pyrrolidine and a spirocyclic derivative, using selective transformations.