Copper-catalyzed Carboxylation of Unactivated Aryl- and Alkenylsilanes with Carbon Dioxide

A mild synthetic protocol for the preparation of aryl and alkenyl carboxylic acids was developed through a copper-catalyzed carboxylation reaction of organosilanes with carbon dioxide. The key to this process was the fine-tuning of the reactivity and selectivity of the organometallic nucleophile through structural modifications of the silane.