Iron-Catalyzed Regio- and Stereoselective C-H Alkenylation of Pivalophenone Derivatives with Unsymmetric Internal Alkynes.

Here we report an ortho -C-H alkenylation of aromatic ketones with unsymmetric internal alkynes catalyzed by an iron phosphine complex, Fe(PMe 3 ) 4 . The use of a catalytic amount of P t Bu 3 as an additive was found to improve the product yields. The alkenylation proceeds regio- and stereoselectively to give the corresponding styrene derivatives.