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We report a facile and economical synthesis of α-fluoroacrylic acids via direct electrochemical defluorinative carboxylation of gem-difluoroalkenes with CO2. By using a platinum plate as the working cathode and a cheap nickel plate as the anode in a user-friendly undivided cell under constant current conditions, the reactions proceed smoothly under room temperature, without the use of expensive transition metal catalysts, ligands, external base or reductant, affording the desired adducts in up to 83% yield and 20:1 Z/E ratio, with good functional group tolerance. A cyclic voltammetry study was conducted and suggested a novel ECEC process.

An enantioselective carboxylative cyclization of propargylic alcohols and CO2 was realized under mild conditions, based on a kinetic resolution strategy, which enabled the synthesis of chiral cyclic carbonates and propargylic alcohols with promising yield and enantioselectivity simultaneously.

Herein, we report that 1,3-diphenylguanidine (DPG) could be utilized for the carboxylative cyclization of homopropargyl amines with CO2 under ambient temperature and pressure, in combination with AgSbF6, which enabled the synthesis of both chiral and achiral 2-oxazinones efficiently. A mechanistic study revealed that the multi-functionality of DPG is critical to the success of the reaction.

We report the copper-catalyzed defluorinative carboxylation of gem-difluoroalkenes with CO2. Using cheap and easily available CuI as the catalyst and bis(pinacolatodiboron) as the stoichiometric reductant, the reaction efficiently converts the alkenyl C–F bond to a carboxyl group with complete retention of stereochemistry, thus providing fluoroalkenyl carboxylic acids in good to excellent yields.

We report a general and highly efficient Mukaiyama-aldol reaction of ketones and difluoroenoxysilanes. While the reaction of aryl ketones worked efficiently in the presence of Bi(OTf) 3 , that of aliphatic ketones required the use of Sc(OTf) 3 . In addition, Sc(OTf) 3 was capable of achieving excellent 1,2-selectivity in the corresponding reaction of α,β-unsaturated ketones. This method provides a facile access to differently substituted β-hydroxy α,α-difluoro ketones, versatile synthons for difluomethylated tertiary alcohols.

We report the activation of (salen)CoI complex 3g by a phosphorane to form a bifunctional catalyst for the reaction of carbon dioxide with terminal epoxides or aziridines at ambient temperature and 1 bar carbon dioxide pressure. Only 1.0 mol% of both (salen)CoI 3g and phosphorane 4d are required for cyclic carbonate synthesis, and the catalyst loading could even be lowered down to 0.1 mol%. Under these conditions, no polycarbonate formation is detected by NMR analysis. It is proposed that the high efficiency originates from the activation of (salen)CoI by a phosphorane to form a phosphorane–salen Co(III) complex with enhanced Lewis acidity for the electrophilic activation while generating an iodide anion as a Lewis base co-catalyst to facilitate the ring-opening of epoxides. Further investigation revealed that the phosphorane–(salen)CoI complex could also successfully catalyze the coupling of CO2 with aziridines under ambient conditions at a catalyst loading of 2.5 mol%.