Recent advances in decarboxylative C-C bond formation using direct or in situ generated alkenyl acids

ABSTRACT In recent years, the reactions of abundantly available, inexpensive, and structurally diverse alkenyl acids (-C=C-COOH) with C-X (X = halogen) or C-H coupling partner have emerged as vital strategies for the streamlined synthesis of functionalized alkenes with extrusion of innocuous CO2. Various alkenyl acids such as cinnamic acids can act as stable surrogates for the polymerization prone styrenes/olefins, which otherwise need special attention for their handling and storage. Furthermore, cinnamic acids can be easily prepared through various methodologies including Knoevenagel-Doebner (KD) condensation, Heck coupling reaction, etc. Recently, various one-pot tandem methodologies involving the decarboxylative coupling of KD/Heck sequence with C-H or C-X substrate have come into fore. The present review article edifies about the recent advances, scope and limitations for C-C bond formation via (i) direct decarboxylative functionalization of C-X or C-H substrate with alkenyl acids, (ii) tandem one-pot multicomponent decarboxylative approaches (involving in situ generated alkenyl acids) e.g. coupling of KD/Heck sequences with C-X or C-H substrate. Graphical abstract