Metallaphotoredox-enabled aminocarboxylation of alkenes with CO2

Upgrading of renewable feedstock CO2 to valuable chemicals is highly desirable for sustainable development. Difunctionalizing carboxylations of alkenes with CO2 represent an enabling technology and tool for rapid construction of complex carboxylic acids and derivatives, however, they are still subject to mono-catalytic strategy and limited reaction type. Herein, we report a synergistic strategy to realize the first aminocarboxylation of alkenes with CO2, providing an efficient and practical synthetic access to valuable β-amino acids. We have demonstrated that binaphthol can act as photocatalyst in photoredox, which enables the single-electron activation of alkenes to generate their radical anion intermediates. Notably, the merger of photocatalysis with copper catalysis is the key to realize such a rare orthogonal difunctionalization of alkene radical anions under redox-neutral conditions. Moreover, this strategy also features mild conditions, high and unique selectivities, good functional group tolerance, facile product derivations and generality in realizing hydroamination of alkenes.