Nickel-catalysed enantioselective alkene dicarbofunctionalization enabled by photochemical aliphatic C–H bond activation

Abstract

The development of novel strategies to rapidly construct complex chiral molecules from readily available feedstocks is a long-term pursuit in the chemistry community. Radical-mediated alkene difunctionalizations represent an excellent platform towards this goal. However, asymmetric versions remain highly challenging, and more importantly, examples featuring simple hydrocarbons as reaction partners are elusive. Here we report an asymmetric three-component alkene dicarbofunctionalization capitalizing on the direct activation of C(sp3)–H bonds through the combination of photocatalysed hydrogen atom transfer and nickel catalysis. This protocol provides an efficient platform for installing two vicinal carbon–carbon bonds across alkenes in an atom-economic fashion, providing a wide array of high-value chiral α-aryl/alkenyl carbonyls and phosphonates, as well as 1,1-diarylalkanes from ubiquitous alkane, ether and alcohol feedstocks. This method exhibits operational simplicity, broad substrate scope and excellent regioselectivity, chemoselectivity and enantioselectivity. The compatibility with bioactive motifs and expedient synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant molecules highlight the synthetic potential of this protocol. Asymmetric versions of radical-mediated alkene difunctionalizations featuring hydrocarbon precursors are currently elusive. Here the authors report an asymmetric vicinal alkene dicarbofunctionalization based on the activation of C(sp3)–H bonds through the combination of photocatalysed hydrogen atom transfer and nickel catalysis.