Decarbonylative Olefination of Aldehydes to Alkenes

New atom-economical alternatives to Wittig chemistry are needed to construct olefins from carbonyl compounds, but none have been developed to-date. Here we report an atom-economical olefination of carbonyls via aldol-decarbonylative coupling of aldehydes using robust and recyclable supported Pd catalysts, producing only CO and H2O as waste. The reaction affords homocoupling of aliphatic aldehydes, as well as heterocoupling of aliphatic and aromatic ones. Computations provide insight into the selectivity and thermodynamics of the reaction. The tandem aldol-decarbonylation reaction opens the door to exploration of new carbonyl reactivity to construct olefins.