Ligand enabled none-oxidative decarbonylation of aliphatic aldehydes

Decarbonylation of aldehydes is a basic organic transformation, which has been developed for more than six-decade. However, as comparing to well-studied aromatic aldehydes, fewer examples for catalytic decarbonylation of aliphatic aldehydes were reported, mainly on simple or special substrates. For α-bulky or highly functionalized ones, stoichiometric Rh(I) were usually required for decent yields. Herein, we present a rare example of Ir(I)-catalyzed direct decarbonylation of α-quaternary aldehydes with broad substrate scope and good functional group compatibility via judicious selection of ligand. The α-chirality is memorized in this decarbonylation process. In addition, we report a broad-spectrum decarbonylation of α-secondary and α-tertiary aldehydes containing multifunctional groups with an improved Rh(I)/DPPP recipe. Finally, we realized selective decarbonylation of α-tertiary aldehydes in the presence of α-quaternary one via the reactivity differences.