Generation and transformation of α-oxy carbene intermediates enabled by copper-catalyzed carbonylation

Since the Fischer-Tropsch reaction was discovered by Otto Roelen in 1938, transition metal-catalyzed carbonylation reactions come in as one of the most important methods for preparing carbonyl-containing and carbon chain-increased compounds. As a result, the field of carbonylation research has received considerable attention over the past decades and continues to increase. With the continuous development of carbonylation and the in-depth study of the mechanism, more mechanistic details and variations have been revealed, which provide more possibilities for organic synthesis. Recently, copper catalysis has been introduced to the carbonylative functionalization of alkenes, thus enabling the rapid assembly of functionalized carbonyl compounds from simple starting materials. In this Account, we summarize the new findings in the Cu-catalyzed borocarbonylation of alkenes based on the generation and transformation of α-oxy carbene intermediates. We believe that the results presented in this Account will further inspire the design of new carbonylation reactions.