Catalyst-controlled anti-Markovnikov palladium-catalyzed oxidation of aliphatic olefins

The Wacker oxidn., or the palladium-catalyzed oxidn. of olefins to carbonyls, is one of the most well-known palladium-catalyzed reactions and has extensive synthetic applications. Traditional Wacker oxidn. conditions obey Markonikov's rule and thus yield Me ketones with high selectivity from the majority of terminal olefins. A Wacker oxidn. capable of producing aldehydes from unbiased terminal olefins would be synthetically useful and is a long-standing challenge in palladium oxidn. chem. A palladiumcatalyzed oxidn. system capable of providing synthetic access to aldehydes from unbiased terminal olefins will be discussed.