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Olefin cyclopropanations via sequential atom transfer radical addition-dechlorination reactions
1Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne. katrin.thommes@epfl.ch
Abstract:
In organic synthesis, cyclopropanation reactions are often performed with Simmons-Smith-type reagents or by transition metal catalyzed reactions of olefins with diazo compounds. A novel method for the synthesis of substituted cyclopropanes is described that is based on a two-step reaction sequence. Olefins are reacted with 1,1'-dichlorides in a Ru-catalyzed atom transfer radical addition (ATRA) process and the resulting 1,3-dichlorides are directly converted into cyclopropanes by reductive coupling with magnesium. This one-pot procedure is applicable to a variety of substrates and can be performed in an inter- or intramolecular fashion.
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