Intercepted decarboxylative allylations of nitroalkanoates

Using palladium-catalyzed decarboxylation, several cascade reactions of allyl and prenyl nitroalkanoates that lead to nitro-containing chemical building blocks are described. A nitronate Michael addition/Tsuji–Trost allylation cascade was developed, leading to functionally dense chemical building blocks. Likewise, a Tsuji–Trost/decarboxylative protonation sequence was developed for the synthesis of orthogonally functionalized 2° nitroalkanes. The latter method provides rapid access to the indolizidine core.