Bifunctional diphosphine ligand-enabled cobalt catalyzed bis-alkoxycarbonylation of alkynes

Abstract

Herein, we report a straightforward approach to access 1,4-dicarboxylic acid diesters via BiPyPhos-enabled cobalt-catalyzed bis-alkoxycarbonylation of alkynes. This strategy utilizes an earth-abundant and cost-efficient cobalt catalyst, free from acid additives or noble metal catalysts. The bifunctional ligand BiPyPhos plays a crucial character in both the rate-determining step and the stability of the cobalt catalytic system. The reaction delivers the product directly with an associative abstraction process. Mechanism studies coupled with NMR, FI-IR, HRMS, and single-crystal X-ray analysis indicate that the carbonyl cobalt hydride complex might be the catalytically active species. Utilizing CoCl2 for bis-alkoxycarbonylation of alkynes has hardly any precedent.