Rhodium-catalyzed allylic substitution with an acyl anion equivalent: stereospecific construction of acyclic quaternary carbon stereogenic centers.

A highly regio- and stereospecific rhodium-catalyzed allylic alkylation of tertiary allylic alcohol derivatives with a cyanohydrin pronucleophile is described. This direct and operationally simple protocol provides a fundamentally novel approach toward the synthesis of α-quaternary substituted ketones and circumvents many of the inherent problems associated with conventional enolate alkylation reactions. The stereospecific variant of this reaction provides the enantiomerically enriched α-quaternary substituted allylic aryl ketone, which is a particularly challenging intermediate for more conventional enolate-based strategies.