Excited Pd-catalyzed dearomative 1,4-dicarbofunctionalization of nonactivated aromatic rings†

Excited-palladium catalysis has already been exploited to achieve 1,4-difunctionalization of dienes via the radical generation of an allylpalladium intermediate. Herein, nonactivated phenyl rings, which can be treated as masked trienes, have accomplished dearomative 1,4-dicarbofunctionalization in an excited-palladium catalyzed two- or three-component reaction system. A wide range of alkyl bromides and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds, playing the roles of radical precursors and nucleophiles, respectively, were found to be suitable for this reaction. Various three-dimensional molecular architectures with multiple quaternary carbon centers were efficiently constructed by means of this mild reaction.