Silver-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Allylation of Aliphatic Carboxylic Acids in Aqueous Solution.

Direct decarboxylative radical allylation of aliphatic carboxylic acids is described. With K2S2O8 as the oxidant and AgNO3 as the catalyst, the reactions of aliphatic carboxylic acids with allyl sulfones in aqueous CH3CN solution gave the corresponding alkenes in satisfactory yields under mild conditions. This site-specific allylation method is applicable to all primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl acids and exhibits wide functional group compatibility.