Published to Chemistry–A European Journal

We demonstrate a quadruple N-heterocyclic carbene/cobalt/photoredox/Brønsted base catalysis to realize branch-selective hydroacylation of styrenes with aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes. This protocol allows access to branched ketones from readily available materials in an atom-economical manner. The quadruple catalysis can transfer a formyl hydrogen of aldehydes as a hydrogen radical equivalent onto the terminal carbon of an alkene by controlled electron and proton transfers.
DOI: 10.1002/chem.202301484