Cu-Catalyzed Carbonylations

Our group developed a platform of copper-catalyzed carbonylative coupling reactions that enable efficient assembly of complex molecules from simple precursors. These multicomponent reactions combine CO gas, alkyl halide electrophiles, and diverse nucleophiles or pro-nucleophiles to form carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds in a single step. Spanning the years 2017 to 2024, this project established a radical carbonylation mechanism, marking a departure from the traditional two-electron paradigms that have long dominated the field of carbonylation catalysis. Our mechanistic insights reshaped thinking in this space and expanded the toolkit for constructing carbonyl-containing compounds. Although this line of research has now concluded in the Mankad Group, its scientific contributions continue to inform and inspire new directions in copper catalysis and radical-based reaction design.