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Copper-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Elimination of Carboxylic Acids to Styrenes
Michael P Stanton1, Jessica M Hoover1
1C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, United States.
Abstract:
A copper-catalyzed decarboxylative elimination reaction of (hetero)aromatic propionic acids to vinyl (hetero)arenes has been developed. This method furnishes alkenes from carboxylic acids without the need for stochiometric Pb or Ag additives or expensive or specialized photocatalysts. A series of mechanistic experiments indicate that the reaction proceeds via benzylic deprotonation and subsequent radical decarboxylation; a pathway that is distinct from the single-electron-transfer mechanisms implicated in related decarboxylative elimination reactions.
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