Ligand‐free palladium‐catalyzed tandem pathways for the synthesis of 4,4‐diarylbutanones and 4,4‐diaryl‐3‐butenones under microwave conditions

Two efficient Pd‐catalyzed tandem pathways for the synthesis of 4,4‐diaryl‐2‐butanones and 4,4‐diaryl‐3‐buten‐2‐ones were elaborated. The first step in both procedures was the Heck coupling of methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and various aryl iodides leading to 4‐aryl‐3‐buten‐2‐one with the yield of up to 92% in 1 hr. The second step performed with the same catalyst and a new portion of aryl iodide in the presence K₂CO₃ as a base produced 4,4‐diaryl‐3‐buten‐2‐ones in high yield. Reaction selectivity changed completely to saturated 4,4‐diaryl‐2‐butanones, reductive Heck products, when a tertiary amine was used instead of K₂CO₃. Due to the application of microwave irradiation (MW), the desired products were obtained in high yield in a short time (4 hr), using 0.5 mol% of the Pd (OAc)₂ catalyst without additional ligands.