Carbon–carbon bond formation via benzoyl umpolung attained by photoinduced electron-transfer with benzimidazolines

A photoreaction between benzoyl compounds, such as benzoylformate derivatives, and 2-(p-anisyl)-1,3-dimethylbenzimidazoline in the presence of allyl bromide was found to give various allylated alcohols. In the reaction of benzoylformates, α-hydroxy ester enolates, for which the negative charge occurs on the carbonyl carbon of benzoyl (umpolung reactivity), are proposed to be generated as intermediates by electron-transfer from benzimidazolines to the photoexcited benzoylformates; these species react with allyl bromide to produce α-allyl-α-hydroxy esters.