Rhodium-catalyzed oxidative decarbonylative Heck-type coupling of aromatic aldehydes with terminal alkenes

A rhodium-catalyzed oxidative decarbonylative Heck-type coupling of aromatic aldehydes with terminal alkenes to afford 1,2-disubstituted alkenes with good regio-and E-selectivity is developed. This reaction employs readily available aromatic aldehydes as the aryl electrophile counterpart and relies on selected acyl chloride as the crucial additive to activate the rhodium catalyst precursor.