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Updated: Jul 4, 2025

Efficient Synthesis of All-Carbon Quaternary Centers via the Conjugate Addition of Functionalized Monoorganozinc Bromides
Published on: May 26, 2019
Copper-catalyzed trichloromethylative carbonylation of ethylene
Youcan Zhang1,2, Bing-Hong Teng3,2, Xiao-Feng Wu2,4
1College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science Shanghai 201620 China.
Abstract:
Difunctionalization of alkenes is an efficient strategy for the synthesis of complex compounds from readily available starting materials. Herein, we developed a copper-catalyzed visible-light-mediated trichloromethylative carbonylation of ethylene by employing commercially available CCl4 and CO as trichloromethyl and carbonyl sources, respectively. With this protocol, various nucleophiles including amines, phenols, and alcohols can be rapidly transformed into β-trichloromethyl carboxylic acid derivatives with good functional-group tolerance. Bis-vinylated γ-trichloromethyl amides can also be obtained by adjusting the pressure of carbon monoxide and ethylene. In addition, this photocatalytic system can be successfully applied in the late-stage functionalization of bioactive molecules and pharmaceutical derivatives as well.
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