Palladium‐Catalyzed Cascade Carbonylation to α,β‐Unsaturated Piperidones via Selective Cleavage of Carbon–Carbon Triple Bonds

A direct and selective synthesis of α,β‐unsaturated piperidones by a new palladium‐catalyzed cascade carbonylation is described. In the presented protocol, easily available propargylic alcohols react with aliphatic amines to provide a broad variety of interesting heterocycles. Key to the success of this transformation is a remarkable catalytic cleavage of the present carbon–carbon triple bond by using a specific catalyst with 2‐diphenylphosphinopyridine as ligand and appropriate reaction conditions. Mechanistic studies and control experiments revealed branched unsaturated acid 11 as crucial intermediate.