Iron-Catalyzed Direct Julia-Type Olefination of Alcohols

J Org Chem. 2020 Aug 7;85(15):9876-9886. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.0c01173. Epub 2020 Jul 16.

Abstract

Herein, we report an iron-catalyzed, convenient, and expedient strategy for the synthesis of styrene and naphthalene derivatives with the liberation of dihydrogen. The use of a catalyst derived from an earth-abundant metal provides a sustainable strategy to olefins. This method exhibits wide substrate scope (primary and secondary alcohols) functional group tolerance (amino, nitro, halo, alkoxy, thiomethoxy, and S- and N-heterocyclic compounds) that can be scaled up. The unprecedented synthesis of 1-methyl naphthalenes proceeds via tandem methenylation/double dehydrogenation. Mechanistic study shows that the cleavage of the C-H bond of alcohol is the rate-determining step.