Cobalt-Catalyzed Carbonylative Synthesis of 4-Oxobutanoates from Formamide and Ethylene

Org Lett. 2023 Oct 13;25(40):7417-7421. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c02973. Epub 2023 Oct 5.

Abstract

The direct concurrent installation of amide and ester groups across olefin motifs represents a powerful and promising functionalization tool in organic chemistry. Herein, a ligand-free cobalt-catalyzed four-component radical relay carbonylative difunctionalization of ethylene for the synthesis of 4-oxobutanoates has been developed. Valuable C4 building blocks were produced in a highly atom-economical fashion.