Direct oxidation of beta-aryl substituted aldehydes to alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes promoted by an o-anisidine-Pd(OAc)2 co-catalyst.

An o-anisidine-Pd(OAc)2 catalytic system for the direct co-catalytic Saegusa oxidation of beta-aryl substituted aldehydes to alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes has been developed. The use of o-anisidine in place of (S)-diphenylprolinol made the process more simply and cost-effective. The process not only features the use of unmodified aldehydes rather than enol silyl ethers, but also gives moderate to good yields (44-72%).