The Takai olefination (or Takai reaction) is a method for the conversion of aldehydes to vinyl iodides, and has seen widespread implementation in organic synthesis. The reaction is usually noted for its high (E)-selectivity; however, herein we report the highly (Z)-selective Takai olefination of salicylaldehyde derivatives. Systematic screening of related substrates led to the identification of key factors responsible for this surprising inversion of selectivity, and enabled the development of a modified mechanistic model to rationalise these observations.
Keywords: Takai olefination; alkenyl iodides; salicylaldehydes; stereoselectivity; transition state.