Ligand-promoted C-3 selective C-H olefination of pyridines with Pd catalysts.

Pd-catalyzed C-3 selective olefination of pyridines is developed for the first time using 1,10-phenanthroline as the ligand. This finding provides a novel disconnection for the synthesis of pyridine-containing alkaloids and drug molecules as well as a new approach for developing Pd-catalyzed C-H functionalizations of pyridines.