Iodine-Catalyzed Direct Olefination of 2-Oxindoles and Alkenes via Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling (CDC) in Air.

A direct intermolecular olefination of sp(3) C-H bond between 2-oxindoles and simple alkenes via a Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling (CDC) strategy has been developed. In the absence of additional base, moderate to excellent yields have been obtained by using a catalytic amount of iodine with atmospheric oxygen as the reoxidant. Based on the observation of a radical capture experiment, the transformation is proposed to proceed via a radical process.