Palladium-catalyzed fluoride-free cross-coupling of intramolecularly activated alkenylsilanes and alkenylgermanes: Synthesis of tamoxifen as a synthetic application

We have demonstrated that intramolecular hypercoordination of a carboxylic acid is a powerful activation strategy for the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of trialkyl(vinyl)silanes and trialkyl(vinyl)germanes under fluoride-free conditions. Z-β-Trialkylsilyl- and Z-β- trialkylgermylacrylic acids, synthesized stereoselectively by olefination with ynolates, are highly stable and useful reagents for cross-coupling with a variety of aryl iodides to provide tetrasubstituted olefins possessing different carbon substituents in a stereocontrolled and diversity-oriented manner. An application to a stereoselective synthesis of (Z)-tamoxifen is also reported.