Geometry Driven Intramolecular Oxidative Cyclization of Enamides: An Umpolung Annulation of Primary Benzamides with Acrylates for the Synthesis of 3-Methyleneisoindolin-1-ones

A palladium-catalyzed tandem oxidative annulation of primary benzamides with acrylates via intermolecular N-alkenylation followed by intramolecular C-alkenylation yielded a stereoselective synthesis of (E)-3-methyleneisoindolin-1-ones. The study unveils, for the first time, that only E-enamides could undergo intramolecular oxidative cyclization under the optimized conditions to give isoindolinones. The current strategy represents an umpolung strategy when compared to the literature approaches that use benzamides.