Nickel catalyzed multicomponent stereodivergent synthesis of olefins enabled by electrochemistry, photocatalysis and photo-electrochemistry

Trisubstituted alkenes are important organic synthons and have broad applications in the synthesis of many pharmaceuticals and materials. The stereoselective synthesis of such compounds has long been a research focus for organic researchers. Herein, we report a three-component, reductive cascade, cross-coupling reaction for the arylalkylation of alkynes. A wide range of trisubstituted alkenes are obtained in good to high yields with excellent chemo- and stereoselectivity by switching between electrochemistry and photocatalysis. The E isomer of the product is obtained exclusively when the reaction is conducted with electricity and nickel, while the Z isomer is generated with high stereoselectivity when photo- and nickel dual catalysts are used. Moreover, photo-assisted electrochemically enabled nickel catalyzed protocol is demonstrated to selectively deliver Z-trisubstituted alkenes without the addition of photocatalysts.