A serendipitous C-C bond formation reaction between Michael donors and diiminoquinoid ring assisted by quaternary ammonium fluoride
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Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Efficient Synthesis of All-Carbon Quaternary Centers via the Conjugate Addition of Functionalized Monoorganozinc Bromides
Published on: May 26, 2019
Vijaykumar V Paike1, R Balakumar, Hsin-Yu Chen
1Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC.
Abstract:
An efficient C-C bond formation reaction assisted by a fluoride ion has been identified for N,N'-diphenyl-1,4-phenylenediimine with the compounds having an active methylene group. The reaction follows the typical Michael addition fashion and proceeds to completion within 1 h at 70 degrees C in acetonitrile in the presence of tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF), while the same reaction failed to proceed in the absence of a fluoride anion. The new finding reported herein also offers an unprecedented method for a direct functionalization of polyaniline backbone with versatile functional alkyl groups.
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