Transition-metal catalyzed redox triggered C-C bond forming reactions via carbonyl addition

Carbon-carbon (C–C) bonds construct the skeleton of all organic molecules. Hence, the development of new efficient methods of C–C bond formation is of great significance in organic chemistry. Since the discovery of the Grignard reaction, carbonyl addition has been an established method for C–C bond formation. In classical carbonyl additions, premetalated reagents or stoichiometric metallic reductants are required. By taking advantage of the native reducing capability of alcohols, our lab has developed methods that exploit alcohols and π-unsaturates to generate transient electrophile-nucleophile pairs to directly convert lower alcohols to higher alcohol. Efforts have been focused on the development of transition metal-catalyzed redox-triggered coupling reactions of primary alcohols and aldehydes to π-unsaturates as well as aryl iodides. Modern methods to construct new C-C bonds in highly selective manner via carbonyl addition were undertaken.