Photoredox-Catalyzed Hydrocarboxymethylation of Alkenes

Direct introduction of a carboxyl group into molecules is one of the most useful methods for the preparation of carboxylic acids,which avoids the conversion of various preexisting functional groups and features good step-and atom-economy.However,the methods for the direct synthesis of two-carbon added carboxylic acids from the precursors remain rare.Herein,we first report a general and mild method for the direct synthesis of a range of aliphatic acids by photoredox-catalyzed hydrocarboxymethylation of alkenes with good toleration of various functional groups in which bromoacetic acid is utilized as an ideal two-carbon synthon.