Photochemical Allylation of Alkanes Enabled by Nickel Catalysis

We have developed an allylic alkylation of alkanes by dual photo-HAT/nickel catalysis. In this reaction, radical-type hydrogen-atom-transfer of the alkanes is enabled by decatungstate as a photocatalyst, whereas nickel serves to cleave the C–O bond in the substrates under mild reaction conditions. This co-catalyzed reaction provides a method for direct functionalization of alkanes. Density functional theory calculations show that reductive elimination is the rate-determining step of this reaction.