Selective Palladium-Catalyzed Aminocarbonylation of Olefins to Branched Amides.

A general and efficient protocol for iso-selective aminocarbonylation of olefins with aliphatic amines has been developed for the first time. Key to the success for this process is the use of a specific 2-phosphino-substituted pyrrole ligand in the presence of PdX (X=halide) as a pre-catalyst. Bulk industrial and functionalized olefins react with various aliphatic amines, including amino-acid derivatives, to give the corresponding branched amides generally in good yields (up to 99 %) and regioselectivities (b/l up to 99:1).