Photocatalytic Radical Alkylation of Electrophilic Olefins by Benzylic and Alkylic Zinc-Sulfinates

Alkyl radicals are obtained by photocatalytic oxidation of readily prepared or commercially available zinc sulfinates. The convenient benzylation and alkylation of a variety of electron-poor olefins triggered by the iridium(III) complex 6 Ir[dF(CF3)ppy]2(dtbbpy)PF6 as photocatalyst is described. Moreover, it is shown that zinc sulfinates can be used for facile nonradical sulfonylation reactions with highly electrophilic Michael acceptors.