Palladacyclic and platinacyclic catalysts for the allylation of aldehydes

A range of palladacyclic and platinacyclic catalysts have been tested for activity in the allylation of aldehydes with allyl tributyltin. The bulky, π-acidic palladacycle [{Pd(μ-Cl){κ2-P,C-P(OC6H2-2,4-tBu2)(OC6H3-2,4-tBu2)2}}2] shows particularly good activity at room temperature with a variety of unsaturated substrates.