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Bimolecular vinylation of arenes by vinyl cations
Zhilong Li1, Vincent Gandon, Christophe Bour
1Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux d'Orsay, CNRS UMR 8182, Université Paris-Saclay, Bâtiment 420, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France. vincent.gandon@universite-paris-saclay.fr christophe.bour@universite-paris-saclay.fr.
Abstract:
Styrene derivatives can be easily synthesized from vinyl triflates and arenes under mild reaction conditions, using [Li][Al(OC(CF3)3)4] as a catalyst and LiHMDS as a base. This transformation is likely to involve a vinyl cation intermediate as an electrophile, which is corroborated by DFT calculations, deuterium-labeling and other control experiments. The use of an inert weakly coordinating anion is a decisive factor in this bimolecular vinylation process.
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