Homobenzylic Oxygenation Enabled by Dual Organic Photoredox and Cobalt Catalysis

Activation of aliphatic C(sp³)-H bonds in the presence of more activated benzylic C(sp³)-H bonds is often a nontrivial, if not impossible task. Herein we show that leveraging the reactivity of benzylic C(sp³)-H bonds to achieve reactivity at the homobenzylic position can be accomplished using dual organic photoredox/cobalt catalysis. Through a two-part catalytic system, alkyl arenes undergo dehydrogenation followed by an anti-Markovnikov Wacker-type oxidation to grant benzyl ketone products. This formal homobenzylic oxidation is accomplished with high atom economy without the use of directing groups, achieving valuable reactivity that traditionally would require multiple chemical transformations.