Decarboxylative alkylation of alkenes

Arenes and alkenes share the presence of C( sp 2 )–H bonds of similar bond dissociation energy, yet their reactivity differs fundamentally. Arenes undergo electrophilic substitution because of aromatic stabilization, for example, in Friedel–Crafts alkylation. By contrast, alkenes react by electrophilic addition (Fig. 1a ), which prevents analogous substitution chemistry, so there is no alkene analogue to Friedel–Crafts alkylation, and the general alkylation of alkenes remains unknown. …