Hypervalent iodine(iii) induced oxidative olefination of benzylamines using Wittig reagents

We have developed hypervalent iodine(iii) induced oxidative olefination of primary and secondary benzylamines using 2C-Wittig reagents, which provides easy access to alpha,beta-unsaturated esters. Mild reaction conditions, good to excellent yields with high (E) selectivity, and a broad substrate scope are the key features of this reaction. We have successfully carried out the gram-scale synthesis of alpha,beta-unsaturated esters.

Automated summary

The hypervalent iodine(iii) induced oxidative olefination using 2C-Wittig reagents provides an efficient method to synthesize alpha,beta-unsaturated esters with mild reaction conditions, high yields, and good (E) selectivity. The reaction has been successfully scaled up for gram-scale synthesis.