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Updated: Jan 20, 2026
Free-radical Polymerization Reaction of Alkenes
Homologative Radical 1,3-Dicarbofunctionalization of Unactivated Alkenes Enabled by Sequential Functional Group
Fushan Chen1, Xu Zhang1, Chen Zhu1
1Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Synergistic Chem-Bio Synthesis, and Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Abstract:
Despite significant advances in conventional radical-mediated 1,2-difunctionalization of alkenes over the past decade, homologative 1,3-difunctionalization remains largely underdeveloped. Herein, we report a novel photoinduced homologative 1,3-dicarbofunctionalization of unactivated alkenes via one-carbon chain elongation, achieved through sequential functional group migrations. By employing strategically designed tertiary alcohols and heteroarylsulfones as versatile coupling partners, this method affords structurally diverse, densely substituted aliphatic ketones and medium-sized cyclic scaffolds with exclusive chemo- and regioselectivity. The transformation accommodates a broad range of migrating groups, including various heteroaryl, phenyl, and alkenyl motifs, and exhibits excellent functional group tolerance.
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