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Updated: Oct 12, 2025

Isolating Free Carbenes, their Mixed Dimers and Organic Radicals
Published on: April 19, 2019
Asymmetric radical carboesterification of dienes
Xiaotao Zhu1,2, Wujun Jian1, Meirong Huang3
1State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Coal to Ethylene Glycol and Its Related Technology, Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 155 Yangqiao Road West, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350002, P. R. of China.
Abstract:
The straightforward strategy of building a chiral C-O bond directly on a general carbon radical center is challenging and stereocontrol of the reactions of open-chain hydrocarbon radicals remains a largely unsolved problem. Advance in this elementary step will spur the development of asymmetric radical C-O bond construction. Herein, we report a copper-catalyzed regioselective and enantioselective carboesterification of substituted dienes using alkyl diacyl peroxides as the source of both the carbon and oxygen substituents. The participation of external acids in this reaction substantially extends its applicability and leads to structurally diverse allylic ester products. This work represents the advance in the key elementary reaction of intermolecular enantioselective construction of C-O bond on open-chain hydrocarbon radicals and may lead to the discovery of other asymmetric radical reactions.
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