Cu-Catalyzed Asymmetric Arylation of Enone Diesters with Arylboronic Acids.

The Cu-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to enone diesters is reported. This operationally simple and scalable reaction proceeded under mild conditions. The practical utility of this approach was demonstrated by the synthesis of structurally important γ-lactones and a cyclopentene that bear an aryl group. Mechanistic studies revealed that two different copper catalytic species work synergistically in the reaction.