Radical Difunctionalization of Gaseous Ethylene Guided by Quantum Chemical Calculations: Selective Incorporation of Two Molecules of Ethylene

Abstract

Ethylene, of which about 170 million tons are produced annually worldwide, is a fundamental C2 feedstock that is widely used on an industrial scale for the synthesis of polyethylenes and polyvinylchlorides. Compared to other alkenes, however, the direct use of ethylene for the synthesis of fine chemicals such as pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals is limited, probably due to its small and gaseous character. We, herein, report a new radical difunctionalization strategy of ethylene, aided by quantum chemical calculations. Computationally proposed imidyl and sulfonyl radicals can be introduced into ethylene in the presence of an Ir photocatalyst under irradiation with blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) (λmax = 440 nm). The present reaction systems led to the selective incorporation of two molecules of ethylene into the substrate, which could be rationally explained by computational analysis.