Iridium-Catalyzed Hydroalkylation of Aliphatic Alkenes with β-Ketoesters: Formal Hydroalkylation with Methyl Ketones

Org Lett. 2020 Aug 7;22(15):6187-6191. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.0c02291. Epub 2020 Jul 22.

Abstract

Transition-metal-catalyzed hydroalkylation of alkenes with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds is a useful reaction to construct a C-C bond under neutral reaction conditions in a highly atom-economical manner. We found that hydroalkylation of aliphatic alkenes with β-ketoesters proceeded with the use of a cationic iridium complex and bidentate phosphine ligand to give selectively branched α-substituted β-ketoesters in high yields. The obtained hydroalkylated compounds can be converted to β-substituted ketones through one-pot Krapcho dealkoxycarbonylation.