Recent advances in transition metal-catalyzed olefinic C–H functionalization

Abstract

Transition metal-catalyzed directed C–H activation has emerged as an increasingly powerful tool for the synthesis of important organic building blocks, organic materials and natural products. Despite the great advances in the past decades, the majority of C–H functionalization systems focus on aryl C–H activation. Given the wide presence of alkenes as substrates, olefinic C–H functionalization, which is a step-economic process, is highly desirable for the construction of functional olefins. Herein, we summarize the recent advances during 2015–2020 in the field of metal-catalyzed olefinic C–H functionalization. This review is organized according to the metal center of the catalyst, with an emphasis on the similarities and differences among different catalysts in olefinic C–H functionalization.