One-Pot and Unsymmetrical Bis-Allylation of Malononitrile with Conjugated Dienes and Allylic Alcohols.

A Pd/Ca catalytic system to promote the unsymmetrical bis-allylation of malononitrile was developed by selecting conjugated dienes and allylic alcohols as allylic reagents. This catalytic system suppressed the competitive symmetrical bis-allylation process and guaranteed the desired unsymmetrical bis-allylation with high chemoselectivity. A wide range of conjugated dienes and allylic alcohols were tolerated well in this transformation, and diverse 1,6-dienes were obtained with high efficiency.