Oxazolinyl-Assisted Ru(II)-Catalyzed C-H Allylation with Allyl Alcohols and Synthesis of 4-Methyleneisochroman-1-ones.

We report herein a ruthenium-catalyzed, oxazoline-directed strategy for C-H allylation of aryl oxazolines using allylic alcohols as the coupling partner. The present transformation unravels the unusual reactivity of allylic alcohols in the synthesis of 4-methyleneisochroman-1-ones and C-H-allylated products. A complete switch in the product selectivity was observed with substrate control and tuning the reaction conditions. The approach employs allyl alcohols as an efficient alternative to preactivated allylating agents to access diverse products in a highly selective manner.