Decarboxylative Olefination of Activated Aliphatic Acids Enabled by Dual Organophotoredox/Copper Catalysis

Herein, we demonstrate a dual organophotoredox/copper catalytic strategy toward challenging decarboxylative olefination processes proceeding in high yields and selectivities. This operationally simple method uses photoactive organic molecules and Cu(II)-complexes as catalysts to provide rapid access to a wide variety of olefins from inexpensive synthetic and biomass-derived carboxylic acids under mild light-mediated conditions. Mechanistic investigations suggest that the reaction rate for this process is controlled solely by the incident photon flux.