Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric quaternary stereocenter formation

An efficient palladium catalyst is presented for the formation of benzylic quaternary stereocenters by conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to a variety of β,β-disubstituted carbocyclic, heterocyclic, and acyclic enones. The catalyst is readily prepared from PdCl(2), PhBOX, and AgSbF(6), and provides products in up to 99% enantiomeric excess, with good yields. Based on this strategy, (-)-α-cuparenone has been prepared in only two steps.