Lanthanide triflate-promoted palladium-catalyzed cyclization of alkenyl beta-keto esters and amides

[reaction: see text] Lanthanide triflates were found to promote the palladium-catalyzed cyclization of alkenyl beta-keto esters and amides. In the presence of catalytic amounts of PdCl(2)(MeCN)(2) and Ln(OTf)(3), various alkenyl beta-keto esters and amides underwent regioselective cyclization reactions to give six-, seven-, or eight-membered-ring carbocycles in moderate to excellent yields.