Weak Arene CH⋅⋅⋅O Hydrogen Bonding in Palladium‐Catalyzed Arylation and Vinylation of Lactones

Abstract

Weak force in action: In the title reaction, the palladium catalyst (see figure, left) uses weak CH⋅⋅⋅O hydrogen bonding to control the absolute configuration of the new stereocenter. A similar palladium catalyst (right) used conventional NH⋅⋅⋅O hydrogen bonding to guide stereoselection.