Mechanism of the Cope rearrangement of acyclic 1,5-dienes and of the wacker oxidation of alk-1-enes catalysed by palladium complexes

Abstract

Hexa-1, 5-diene is catalytically converted into acetone in an aqueous solution of (PhCN)₂PdCl₂, CuCl₂, and CuCl at 60 ° in the presence of oxygen, thereby revealing a hitherto unsuspected role of η³-allylic intermediates in both the Pd^II-catalysed Cope rearrangements of 1,5-dienes and the selective Wacker oxidation of propene and higher alk-1-enes to ketones.