Rhodium-catalyzed alkylation of terephthaldialdimine with terminal alkenes via C-H bond activation

Terephthaldialdimine 1a reacted with alkenes to give 2,6-dialkylated products selectively in moderate to high isolated yields. In the case of terephthaldialdimine 1b having a substituent at site 2 in the phenyl ring, the alkylation takes place selectively at site 6 in the phenyl ring. In this alkylation, a meta-substituent affected the reactivity significantly because of the steric hindrance.