It has been established that a cationic Rh(I)/dppf complex catalyzes the olefin isomerization/allyl Claisen rearrangement/intramolecular hydroacylation cascade of di(allyl) ethers to produce substituted cyclopentanones in good yields under mild conditions.
alpha-Carbanions of cyclic and acyclic imines have been successfully applied as nucleophiles in the Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation reaction. Tuning of chemo- and regioselectivity has been realized by using t-BuOK/THF and LDA/toluene to give branched and linear products, respectively, with high regio- and diastereoselectivities. A plausible mechanism is proposed on the basis of the experimental results and DFT calculations.