α-Olefins are the most abundant petrochemical feedstock beyond alkanes, yet their use in commodity chemical manufacture is largely focused on polymerization and hydroformylation. The development of byproduct-free catalytic C-C bond-forming reactions that convert olefins to value-added products remains an important objective. Here, we review catalytic intermolecular reductive couplings of unactivated and activated olefin-derived nucleophiles with carbonyl partners. These processes represent an alternative to the longstanding use of stoichiometric organometallic reagents in carbonyl addition.
Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.