Pyrenedione-Catalyzed α-Olefination of Nitriles under Visible-Light Photoredox Conditions.

Herein, we report a combination of pyrenedione (PD) and KOtBu to achieve facile alcohol dehydrogenation under visible-light excitation, where aerobic oxygen is utilized as the terminal oxidant. The resulting carbonyl compound can be easily converted to vinyl nitriles in a single-pot reaction, at 60 °C in 6-8 h. This environmentally benign, organocatalytic approach has distinct advantages over transition-metal-catalyzed α-olefination of nitriles, which often operate at a significantly higher temperature for an extended reaction time.