Saturated ketones have been produced by heating secondary allylic alcohols and catalytic amounts of PdCl2 or Pd(OAc)(2) in molten n-Bu4NBr. After extraction of the organic material with diethyl ether, the ionic layer and the catalyst can be reused directly. Linear secondary homoallylic alcohols led also to the corresponding saturated ketones as main products. The procedure was less selective for primary allylic alcohols. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.