The first copper-catalyzed direct β-functionalization of saturated ketones is reported. This protocol enables diverse ketones to couple with a wide range of nitrogen, oxygen and carbon nucleophiles in generally good yields under operationally simple conditions. The detailed mechanistic studies including kinetic studies, KIE measurements, identification of reaction intermediates, EPR and UV-visible experiments were conducted, which reveal that this reaction proceeds via a novel radical-based dehydrogenation to enone and subsequent conjugate addition sequence.

Scheme 1. Three examples of useful alkynylated thiophenes: a) 5-(2-Phenylethynyl)-2-b-glucosylmethyl-thiophene, a natural product; [10a] b) S-3304, a matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor; [10b] c) R = n-C 4 H 9 , a liquid-crystalline semiconductor. [10c]

In organic molecules, the reactivity at the carbon atom next to the functional group is dramatically different from that at other carbon atoms. Herein, we report that a versatile copper-catalyzed method enables successive dehydrogenation or dehydrogenation of ketones, aldehydes, alcohols, α,β-unsaturated diesters, and N-heterocycles to furnish stereodefined conjugated dienecarbonyls, polyenecarbonyls, and nitrogen-containing heteroarenes. On the basis of mechanistic studies, the copper-catalyzed successive dehydrogenation process proceeds via the initial α,β-desaturation followed by further dehydrogenative desaturation of the resultant enone intermediate, demonstrating that the reactivity at α-carbon is transferred through carbon–carbon double bond or longer π-system to the carbon atoms at the positions γ, ε, and η to carbonyl groups. The dehydrogenative desaturation–relay is ascribed to the formation of an unusual radical intermediate stabilized by 5- or 7,- or 9-center π-systems. The discovery of successive dehydrogenation may open the door to functionalizations of the positions distant from functional groups in organic molecules.