Electroreductive Arylcarboxylation of Styrenes with CO2 and Aryl Halides via a Radical-Polar Crossover Mechanism

Org Lett. 2024 May 31;26(21):4427-4432. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.4c00920. Epub 2024 May 17.

Abstract

2,3-Diaryl propanoic acids are important structures as a result of their widespread presence in numerous bioactive compounds. However, the limitations of existing synthetic techniques include the requirement for costly catalysts and limited substrates. Here, we developed a novel electroreductive arylcarboxylation of alkenes with CO2 based on a radical-polar crossover pathway assisted by easily accessible dimethyl terephthalate as a reductive mediator. This method will provide an efficient strategy for the synthesis of 2,3-diarylpropanoic acids.