Rhenium-catalyzed alkylarylation of alkenes with PhI(O2CR)2viadecarboxylation to access indolinones and dihydroquinolinones

Rhenium-catalyzed alkylarylation of alkenes with hypervalent iodine(iii) reagents (HIRs)viadecarboxylation to access various 3,3-disubstituted indolinones andtrans-3,4-dihydroquinolinones is described. These transformations feature wide substrate scopes, good functional-group tolerance, and divergent regioselectivity. Mechanistic studies revealed a cascade sequence of decarboxylation/intermolecular radical alkylation/intramolecular radical arylation/oxidative re-aromatization.