Palladium-Catalyzed ortho-Olefination of Phenyl Acetic and Phenyl Propylacetic Esters via C–H Bond Activation

A highly regioselective palladium-catalyzed ester-directed ortho-olefination of phenyl acetic and propionic esters with olefins via C–H bond activation has been developed. A wide variety of phenyl acetic and propionic esters were tolerated in this transformation, affording the corresponding olefinated aromatic compounds. The ortho-olefination of heterocyclic acetic and propionic esters also took place smoothly giving the products in good yields, thus proving the potential utility of this protocol in synthetic chemistry.