Can decarbonylation of acyl radicals be overcome in radical addition reactions?: En route to a solution employing N-acyl oxazolidinones and SmI2/H2O

The application of acyl radicals in radical addition reactions in the absence of a CO atmosphere is generally limited to aryl or α-unsubstituted alkyl acyl radicals due to competing decarbonylations where the rate constant for this degradation process surpasses 104 s-1. In this work, a potential solution to avoid the problem of decarbonylations is presented employing N-acyl oxazolidinones which are reduced to acyl radical equivalents in the presence of samarium diiodide and water. In the company of an acrylamide, acrylate, or acrylonitrile, the product from a formal acyl radical addition is obtained in yields up to 87%. Examples are given where the decarbonylation rate constants even exceed 108 s-1. It is proposed that the reaction proceeds via a ketyl-like intermediate. Copyright © 2005 American Chemical Society.