Organophotoredox-catalyzed intermolecular formal Grob fragmentation of cyclic alcohols with activated allylic acetates

Abstract

We have developed an efficient method that employs organophotoredox-catalyzed relay Grob fragmentation to facilitate the smooth ring-opening allylation of cyclic alcohols in an environmentally friendly manner. This protocol directly incorporates a wide spectrum of cyclic alcohols and activated allylic acetates into the cross-coupling reaction, eliminating the need for metal catalysts. The process yields a variety of distally unsaturated ketones with good to excellent outcomes and stereoselectivity, while acetic acid is the sole byproduct.